Council tax

Carers should check if they can get £1,000s off their council tax bills under the 'live-in carer' or 'severe mental impairment' (SMI) discounts, as one dad providing full-time support for his daughter has shared how he got a £7,500 refund and 50% reduction on future bills after reading our tips – and is now encouraging others to claim.

The parents of a woman living with multiple sclerosis have claimed a £10,000 council tax refund on her behalf after watching MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis talking about the little-known discount on TV. Her future bills have also been reduced to zero. Below we explain how to check if you're one of the 100,000s who could also claim the 'severely mentally impaired' (SMI) council tax discount.

Council tax bills will increase for millions of people in England from 1 April, with the majority of local authorities set to hike rates by 5% – though in some cases bills will rise by up to 15%. Council tax bills are also expected to rise in Scotland and Wales where nationwide caps are not in place.

Around 300,000 households are yet to claim their £150 council tax rebate, according to the latest Government figures. You've now got until 30 November to claim the payment from your local council, so make sure you don't miss out. Here's what you need to know. 

If you don't pay your council tax by direct debit it's likely you've yet to receive your free £150 energy rebate from the Government. To help you find out when and how you're expected to get your money, we've put together this council-by-council guide.

If you weren't eligible for the £150 council tax rebate to help with the cost of living but are struggling to pay your energy bills, you may be entitled to a one-off cash payment. We've trawled the websites of every UK council to see which ones have released their eligibility criteria for the money, and so check below.

Households are being urged to check NOW if they are one of the 862,000 due a refund of overpaid council tax, with an investigation by  MoneySavingExpert.com showing residents in England, Scotland and Wales could claim back a total of just over £150 million.

The vast majority of councils say that they've paid the £150 council tax rebate, a scheme launched in April to help tackle rising energy prices, to households that pay their bills by direct debit. If you haven't had yours yet, don't panic. Here's what you need to know.

Households should beware cold callers asking for their bank account details in order to seemingly pay them the Government's £150 council tax rebate, as it's likely to be a scam. MoneySavingExpert.com has seen a number of reports from councils urging residents to beware of fraudsters, while officials have also cautioned households to watch out.

People should brace for the prospect that their £150 council tax rebate might not come in April, with reports of one council informing thousands of residents that a "software issue" is holding the payments up. But make sure you set up a direct debit in the meantime to prevent further delays.