Council tax rebanding: the risks

Getting your council tax band reassessed can save you money and get thousands refunded, but is there a danger that you'll provoke an increase?

There has been a lot of media attention about getting your council tax reassessed in order to lower your tax bill and to get a refund on earlier payments.

But one thing has been on the back of my mind throughout: if you can ask for a reassessment to reduce your council tax band, what happens if it turns out you're actually not paying enough tax? Eeek!

If you carry out home improvements it may, of course, increase the value of your home. If this pushes the property into a higher council tax band, then the tax bill for the property will be higher. However, Paul Clements from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which values properties in England and Wales for council tax purposes, said that the bill would not normally go up until the property is sold. This means that it is only the occupants after the property is sold who are hit by a higher bill.

However, if you ask for your council tax to be reassessed, the change will take place straight away. This is regardless of whether your council tax band goes up or down. Therefore, if you're considering getting it reassessed, you want to be pretty darn sure that the band is too high and not too low.

Along with the false belief that extensions automatically increase council tax bills, there appear to be lots of other myths about council tax valuations.

Conspiracy theories mentioned on the VOA website include a common belief that properties are being secretly revalued across the nation, that the VOA holds details about your holidays and pets, and even that the VOA is spying on you from space. Move over NASA!

One more tip for money savers

Here's a tip for everyone. I pay my council-tax bill over twelve months instead of ten. All it took was a phone call to the council. I pay the same amount, but my monthly bills are lower, so the difference sits in my bank account acquiring interest for longer!

More: How to slash your council tax bill | Compare mortgages