About your Council Tax

We set Council Tax to help pay for local services.

Council services are also paid for by government grants, fees and other charges. 

There is one Council Tax bill for each home in the county - whether it's a house, flat, mobile home or houseboat. 

We keep most of the Council Tax we collect. The rest goes to the local police service, fire service, parish councils and town councils.

Download our Council Tax Explanatory Notes

Who pays Council Tax?

Council Tax is usually paid by the person who owns, occupies or rents the property.

Where there are two or more people who are joint owners or joint tenants, they are both responsible for paying.

Married couples, civil partners and people living together as a couple are jointly liable for the bill while they both live at the address - this is the person or people who come highest in this list:

• you lease the property  
• you are a tenant
• you have some other right to occupy the property
• you are a resident
• you own the property   

The owner of the property will be the person who pays Council Tax for:

• houses in multiple occupation - for example, a bedsit
• homes occupied by resident staff
• residential care homes
• religious communities
• asylum seekers