Backdated Claims

Council Tax Reduction (previously called Council Tax Benefit) is normally awarded from the Monday following the date that we receive your claim.

We may be able to pay benefit from an earlier date if you have good reason for not claiming earlier: it is called backdating and your claim may be backdated by up to 6 months if you are aged under 60 years, or 3 months if you are aged 60 years or over.

Qualifying Criteria

Failure to make enquiries earlier and ignorance of the benefit scheme are not considered to be good reason for not claiming earlier.

For more information relating to the backdating of benefit claims you can download a copy of our Backdating Claims leaflet, available in Portable Document Format from the 'Related Downloads' section of this page.

Further Information

For further information on backdated Council Tax Reduction claims, please contact the Benefits and Council Tax Administration Team on Telephone: 01856 873535 Extension 2116, email.

Online Payments

You can pay Council Tax, Non-Domestic Rates, Council House Rent, Garage Rent, Invoices and Other Payments using our online payments facility, available from the 'Related Links' section of this page. Additional Services will be added as we continue to develop the range of payments available online.