How to check the council tax band for your property
The band for your property is shown on your council tax bill above the charge details – look for the words 'Annual Charges for Council Tax Band'.
You can also check your Council Tax band on the Government website.
Our staff are working additional hours to help reduce waiting times, we have also recently introduced the new My Account service which is an online account for residents to view and manage their account online, as well as submit changes to their circumstances online. Over 59% of the changes coming in via the My Account portal are automatically updating Council Tax records. The remaining changes reported are being handled by Council Tax staff due to the level of checks required and these are being dealt with within 2 weeks of being received.
Further information can be found on the Online 'My Account' service page.
The wait time for our Council Tax call handlers to answer your call can vary at different times of the day. The lines can be especially busy at the beginning of the working week. If you have received a letter from us and need to speak to a call handler, please bear in mind that many other residents will have also received a letter and they too are trying to call us.
One Stop Shops
We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls to our Contact Centre and requests to our Council Tax Teams - in part due to the cost of living crisis.
Both teams are currently prioritising supporting the most vulnerable and those in need of help and support from our Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme (ELAS).
We appreciate that the current response times will be frustrating for people trying to contact the Council, so we have taken steps to recruit and train additional staff, and our staff are working extra hours to help meet the demand. We would encourage people to use online processes wherever possible.
Anticipated response time to your enquiry
Application for a Discount/Exemption – response time up to 1 week
Change of Address / Household Occupier Details – response time up to 2 weeks.
Other Enquiries – response time up to 2 weeks.
If you have not received a response to your original enquiry, we request that you do not make a follow-up enquiry within the timescales detailed above.
Online 'My Account' service
My Account for Council Tax enables Sefton residents to view and manage their Council Tax via a safe and secure online portal using a smartphone, laptop or desktop computer.
To register for your My Account, you will need to enter the details as shown on your latest Council Tax bill or recovery notice. Once registered, you simply need to sign in to your account in future.
You can use My Account to:
- Sign up to paperless billing and access your bills 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All bills will be stored on the online account, eliminating the requirement to keep paper copies
- View your up-to-date account information and check your balance
- Sign up for Direct debit and update your payment details instantly
- Apply for any Discounts or Exemptions that you may be eligible for
- Make changes to your account without needing to speak to a Customer Services Advisor in the Contact Centre or One Stop Shops
Most changes reported via a My Account for Council Tax or Business Rates will be updated automatically resulting in speedier response times.
If you do not wish to register for My account, you can still:
- Sign up for Direct debit
- Tell us you have moved home
- Apply for any Discounts or Exemptions that you may be eligible for
- Upload evidence which will go directly on to your account
- View Landlord or agent services to report changes in occupiers to any properties that you rent out to help ensure that the Council Tax at your property stays accurate
- Search for the Council Tax band of a property
More information regarding the process can be found on the Online 'My Account' service page.
We understand that receiving a summons can be very worrying if you are unable to pay the amount due in full. It is our desire to agree reasonable payment arrangements.
Make an offer to repay your council tax.
Once completed, we will suspend further recovery action until your offer is accepted and a new formal arrangement made to pay your remaining Council Tax in instalments.
After you have completed the form please make payments as per your offer until a member of the Council Tax team contacts you. We aim to respond to all offers of payment within 10 working days.
If you are on a low income you may be eligible to receive Council Tax Reduction. Details of the scheme and the online application process is in the link below.
Find out if you're eligible for a council tax reduction
If you are already in receipt of Council Tax Reduction, you may be able to request an Exceptional Hardship Fund payment if you are experiencing hardship caused by unusual or extreme circumstances. The Exceptional Hardship Fund application process is in the link below.
Request an Exceptional Hardship Fund payment
Further help can also be found on the Struggling to pay your Council Tax Bill page.
Sefton Council’s Revenues and Benefits service offers “extra help” for older customers or customers with a disability or serious illness.
The additional assistance we offer include:
- Large print we can send your documentation out in large print.
- Coloured paper we can send your documents on the coloured paper you need.
- Braille we can send out your documentation in Braille on request.
- Recite me read aloud and translation software is available on all Sefton Council webpages.
- Language Translation services are available on request.
- Web chat subject to availability, you may be able to chat online with one of our customer services officers during office hours via our website.
- Social media you can contact us on our dedicated Twitter account, @seftoncouncil or via Facebook.
- Home visits if you require support and this can’t be done over the phone, we may be able to arrange for a member staff to visit you at home to help complete any documents or if you require more detailed explanations about our services, we will be happy to do this.
If you would like to register for any of these extra services, please use our Contact Form - Section 1 - MyServices. Select one of our teams, i.e. Business Rates, Council Tax, Housing Benefit & Council Tax Reduction Scheme or Sundry Income, as appropriate, from the list of Departments and explain what additional assistance you require in the “Comments / enquiry” box.