Council Tax

Council Tax 2024/25 questions answered:

Why has the Council approved a Council Tax credit?

The Council set its Budget on 29 February 2024 and this included increasing the rate of Council Tax for the 2024/25 financial year by 8.2 per cent. A quarter of Inverclyde households does not pay any more Council Tax due to being in receipt of Council Tax Reduction or various exemptions. For everyone else, the average weekly Council Tax increase is £1.99.

However, following negotiations with the Scottish Government the Council has secured more funding for 2024/25, approximately £2.9 million, providing this is used to fully offset the impact of the 8.2% increase in 2024/25.

At a meeting of the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee on 26 March 2024, it was agreed to introduce a one-off Council Tax credit in 2024/25 in light of the additional funding from the Scottish Government.

This extra funding has been credited directly into 2024/25 Council Tax accounts by way of a one-off Council Tax credit for those Council Tax payers for whom Council Tax payments increased as a result of the 8.2% increase. This will effectively mean there is no increase in Council Tax in 2024/25.

Did I have to pay more Council Tax to begin with?

Yes. As Council Tax rates had been agreed for 2024/25 in line with legislation and bills already issued, residents will initially pay more until the credit takes effect and then payments will reduce.

By law, Councils must issue Council Tax bills in sufficient time to begin to take Council Tax payments from 1 April.

Therefore, initial payments were based on the 8.2 per cent Council Tax increase amount.

When will the One-Off Credit take effect?

The level of funding due from the Scottish Government has been confirmed. New Council Tax bills have been calculated and residents will receive their new bills directly through the post or online, depending on how they have chosen to receive their annual Council Tax bills.

I received a One-Off Credit. Will my Direct Debit date change?

Is your next Direct Debit due to be paid on 28^th July 2024?

If your normal payment date would be 28^th July 2024, your next Direct Debit is due to be collected from you on 1st August 2024. Instalments will return to the 28th of the month from 28^th August 2024 and thereafter. You do not need to do anything; these changes will be made for you.

Do you pay Council Tax by Direct Debit each week on a Thursday?

If you pay Council tax each week on a Thursday, your direct debit due on 25^th July will not be collected. Instead, the amount normally due that week will be spread across the instalments due to be paid for the remainder of this year. The next direct debit due to be collected from you will be on 1^st August 2024. You do not need to do anything; these changes will be made for you.

All other payment dates:

Payments due by Direct Debit on all other dates or by any other payment method are not affected and you should continue to pay the revised instalments as normal.

My credit has been applied but my bill is still higher than last year, why is that?

Council Tax bills also include water and sewerage charges and Scottish Water has increased charges for 2024/25 by 8.8%. More information about water charges can be found in the Other Websites section of this page by selecting the ‘Scottish Water’ tab.

How much is the one-off credit to my Council Tax Account?

The one-off credit negating the 8.2% annual Council Tax increase is as follows:

Council Tax Band	One-off credit
A*	£65.13
A	£78.16
B	£91.19
C	£104.21
D	£117.24
E	£154.04
F	£190.52
G	£229.60
H	£287.24

The amounts shown above are calculated before any reductions for discounts are applied.

Why have I not received a One-Off Credit to my 2024/25 Council Tax

The one-off Council Tax credit is to offset the impact of the 8.2% increase and will be paid to the Council Tax accounts of residents not in receipt of Council Tax Reduction (CTR) or exempt from Council Tax.

If you receive help with Council Tax through the Council Tax Reduction scheme (CTR) or are exempt from Council Tax, you are not affected financially by the 8.2% increase. CTR is an assessment of households’ ability to pay, so increases in the Council Tax are met in full by CTR. The bill you received for 2024-25 has been calculated on this basis and you should continue to pay the instalments shown on your bill.

Council Tax accounts without CTR or exempt from the charge on 30 April 2024 will receive the credit. If your circumstances change after that date, such as you stop being entitled to CTR, you are no longer exempt from Council Tax or you move address, you will not receive a one-off Credit and the Council Tax set by Inverclyde Council on 29 February 2024 will be payable.

How can I find out more about Council Tax, including Discounts and Exemptions?

Further information about Council Tax, including Discounts, Exemptions, and how to access help can be found in the Related Links section of this page.

Valuation

Your Council Tax bill is based on the valuation band allocated to your property by the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board. The office covering Inverclyde is based at:

Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board
The Robertson Centre
16 Glasgow Road
Paisley
PA1 3QF

Each property is placed into one of eight valuation bands according to its market value on 1 April 1991. If your property was built after this date then the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board decide which band they think it would have been on 1 April 1991. This means you cannot get a good indication of the band of a property based on current market values.

The eight valuation bands are:-

Band A - Up to £27,000
Band B - £27,001 to £35,000
Band C - £35,001 to £45,000
Band D - £45,001 to £58,000
Band E - £58,001 to £80,000
Band F - £80,001 to £106,000
Band G - £106,001 to £212,000
Band H - Over £212,000

The Valuation List

A complete list of all the valuation bands for Inverclyde Council (known as the Valuation List) is held at the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board. The Valuation List shows all the property addresses, bands and effective dates for every domestic property in Inverclyde.

Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board is responsible for maintaining the Valuation List, by valuing any new properties, agreeing address changes and deciding any changes to valuation bands etc. Visit the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board website (see Related External Links) for full details of their service and your rights as a council tax payer.

Can I Appeal?

Yes. All appeals were to be submitted between 1 April 1993 and 30 November 1993, however, new occupiers have the Right to Appeal up to six months from the date of occupation.

However, remember that Council Tax valuations will always be based on the price a property would have realised if it had been sold on 1 April 1991. Any decrease in value which has resulted from falling house prices will be ignored.

To check your current Council Tax band visit the Scottish Assessors website under the external links on the left.

Further information on the Council Tax increases by the Scottish Government can be found on their website.

Council Tax Charges 2024 / 25

We set our Council Tax for the next financial year, 2024-2025. The table below details the charges for each band for Council Tax, Water and Sewerage.

For information on how your Council Tax bill is calculated and how Inverclyde Council spends its budget, please see the Information leaflet which can be accessed from the Documents section.

Council Tax banding 2024 / 25
Band	Council Tax	Water	Sewerage	Total
A	1031.34	168.60	195.66	1395.60
B	1203.23	196.70	228.27	1628.20
C	1375.12	224.80	260.88	1860.80
D	1547.01	252.90	293.49	2093.40
E	2032.60	309.10	358.71	2700.41
F	2513.89	365.30	423.93	3303.12
G	3029.56	421.50	489.15	3940.21
H	3790.17	505.80	586.98	4882.95