Council tax rebate claims deadline extended as over 300,000 households yet to get their £150 - here's what you need to know

Under the rebate scheme, councils are making a £150 non-repayable payment to households in council tax bands A to D in England, Scotland and Wales.

The vast majority of households, around 19.1million, have already received their payment. If you pay your council tax bill by direct debit, your £150 payment will have been automatically paid.

If you don't pay your council tax by direct debit, you'll need to contact your local council to claim the payment. If you haven't do so already, we've got all you need to know below. Be aware that you're still eligible for the rebate even if you don't pay council tax because, for example, you receive a 100% discount due to being 'severely mentally impaired' or you're a household of full-time students - so make sure you still claim.

For more information on council tax and how some can lower their council tax band and save £1,000s, see our Council tax bands guide, which also includes details of council tax discounts you may not be claiming. You should also check if you've overpaid your council tax as you may be due a refund.

You've now got until 30 November to claim your £150 rebate

The Government has extended the deadline for claiming the payment from 30 September until 30 November - so you still have time if you haven't already been paid.  

There won't be any further extension after the 30 November. If you don't claim the payment by this date, your council may decide to apply the rebate as a credit to your council tax account, if you have one. 

Contact your local council to claim your payment

Contact your local council to claim your payment. If you don't know your local council, you can input your postcode on the Government website to find out.

There are several ways your £150 payment will be paid. Earlier this year, we looked at the websites of all 332 councils across England and Wales that are responsible for paying the rebates. Here are the different payment methods we found:

• Complete a form online and get paid into your bank account. This is the most common payment route for those who don't pay by direct debit and our research showed it is being used by 274 councils. The forms allow you to share your bank details with your council safely, so it can put the £150 directly into your account. Some of the forms will require you to provide a unique code, and this'll likely be contained in a letter sent by your council. 

  If you have the option of filling in an online form but fail to do so, your council will either apply the £150 rebate as a credit to your council tax account (reducing your monthly bill) or send you a Post Office voucher. 

• A voucher to be redeemed at the post office. Forty-six councils have said they will send you a letter in the post containing a unique barcode that you'll be able to take to any of the UK's 11,500 post office branches to receive the £150. Use the Post Office's branch finder tool to find your nearest.

• A credit applied to your council tax account. Nine councils in England and Wales have said they will apply the £150 credit to the council tax accounts of all eligible households. If you owe your council money, this'll reduce that amount. But it's still worth contacting your council to see if it will refund the £150 as cash.

• A cheque in the post for you to cash with your bank. Three councils said they are sending households a cheque worth £150 to those who don't pay by direct debit. You'll be able to cash this at your usual bank or building society, or via its smartphone app.

In Scotland, all councils will offer the full £150 discount off one monthly council tax bill, or they'll debit it across the year's bills (which are typically broken down into 10 months). 

The £150 is only available to those in certain council tax bands

If you don't qualify for the main £150 rebate because you don't live in a property in bands A to D, don't worry. Extra cash may be available to you and councils in England and Wales have until 30 November to pay this out – see our council-by-council list to see what help you could get. 

It's up to your local authority to decide how the discretionary fund is distributed. 

Funding has also been given to the devolved Government in Scotland. Households don't pay council tax in Northern Ireland.