How does Council Tax work when you move house?

Who pays at your new home

You usually have to pay Council Tax if you are 18 or over and live in the home. A full bill assumes at least 2 adults live there. If you live with a husband, wife or partner, you are both responsible for the bill.

When you move, you become responsible for Council Tax at your new address. The bill depends on three things:

• the valuation band of the new home
• how much the local council charges for that band
• any discount or exemption you get

Discounts do not move with you

Discounts and reductions are not carried across to a new home or a new council. You must apply again, even if you had the same discount before.

Your old home, if it is left empty

If you still own your old home and nobody lives there, Council Tax is usually still due on it.

• Your council can choose to give a discount on empty homes. Ask your council what it offers.
• After a home has been empty for 1 year, the council can charge an extra "empty homes premium". For homes empty 10 years or more, the bill can be up to 4 times the normal amount.
• A home will not normally get the premium for up to 12 months while it is being marketed for sale or to rent.

Special cases where no Council Tax is due on the old home

You do not pay Council Tax on an empty home if, for example:

• you moved into a care home or hospital, or you are in prison
• it has been repossessed
• you are selling it for an owner who has died, until probate is granted, as long as it stays empty
• it cannot legally be lived in, for example because it is derelict

Keeping two homes

If you keep your old home as a second home, you usually pay Council Tax on both. Your council decides whether it is a second home and can charge up to double the normal rate.

Paying and refunds

Council Tax is usually split into 10 monthly payments. If you move partway through the year and have paid too much and have not had an automatic refund, contact that council.

If moving leaves you short, contact your new council early. It may spread payments over 12 months instead of 10.

If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

• Scotland and Wales: you apply for discounts, such as the single person discount, to your local council in the same way.
• Northern Ireland: there is no Council Tax. You pay domestic rates to Land & Property Services instead, so contact them when you move.

Related guides

• Who pays council tax?
• How do I get a Council Tax refund?
• Can I get money off Council Tax if I live alone?
• How do I check my Council Tax band?
• How do I pay my Council Tax?

Where this comes from

• How Council Tax works: who has to pay (GOV.UK)
• How Council Tax works (GOV.UK)
• Apply for Council Tax Reduction (GOV.UK)
• Council Tax: discounts for disabled people (GOV.UK)
• Council Tax: second homes and empty properties (GOV.UK)
• Council Tax: paying your bill (GOV.UK)
• Council Tax discounts, exemptions and reductions (mygov.scot)
• Council Tax discounts, disregards, exemptions and reductions (Welsh Government)
• A guide to rates (nidirect)