Thirty households in northern Lincolnshire successfully got their council tax bills reduced – but it’s not without risk.
People who think that their home may be in the wrong council tax band can make an appeal to have it changed. Taxpayers can make an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) who will investigate the matter and inform the taxpayer of the outcome.
Bands can go up as well as down though, so deciding to appeal your council tax band is a decision not to be taken lightly.
A total of 190 appeals were made to the VOA in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024.
Almost two thirds of those (63%) saw the council tax band remain unchanged. Around one in six of them – a total of 30 cases – saw the council tax band get reduced.
In North East Lincolnshire, there were 10 successful appeals, while in North Lincolnshire, there were 20. You can see the figures for the whole country in the interactive widget below:
How does this compare to the rest of the country?
A total of almost 44,000 households across England and Wales made appeals to the VOA last year. Nearly a quarter – 10,530 – were successful in getting their council tax bands reduced.
But not everyone was so lucky. Thirty households had their council tax bands increased.
Official figures don’t reveal where these homes were, except that around 10 were in the South East and another 10 in the South West. Some parts of the country have been more successful with their appeals than others.
Just over two thirds (67%) of appeals in Rossendale and Rushmoor saw the council tax band get decreased. Those are the joint highest rates in England and Wales.
In Wrexham the ratio was 57%, while in seven areas, 50% of all appeals ended in a reduction – Halton, Stockport, Oadby and Wigston, Lincoln, Mansfield, Blaenau Gwent, and Merthyr Tydfil.
In Hounslow, however, just 5% – a total of 10 cases – saw the council tax band get decreased. In Leicester it was just 6% of cases, while in Barnet, Hillingdon, and Windsor and Maidenhead it was 7%.
Local authorities where the most appeals resulted in a reduction
- Cornwall: 220
- North Yorkshire: 210
- Somerset: 180
- Buckinghamshire: 150
- Birmingham: 130
- Wiltshire: 120
- Stockport: 110
- Westmorland and Furness: 110
- Cheshire West and Chester: 110
- Cheshire East: 110
- Kirklees: 100
- Dorset: 100
- Leeds: 100
- Lambeth: 90
- South Gloucestershire: 90
- Shropshire: 90
- Cumberland: 80
- Liverpool: 80
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: 80
- Northumberland: 70
- Herefordshire, County of: 70
- Sefton: 70
- North Somerset: 70
- Salford: 70
- County Durham: 70
- Bromley: 70
- Croydon: 70
Join the FREE Grimsby Live WhatsApp Community
Get all the latest stories, sent straight to your WhatsApp – all you need to do is click the link.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
