Council Tax
Why not pay your council tax using online payments? Visit our make a payment page to find out more.
Did you know you can now view your Council Tax or Business Rates account details online?
Frequently asked questions
- What is council tax?
- Who has to pay council tax?
- How much do I have to pay?
- Is it possible to reduce the amount I have to pay? (see reductions page)
- How can I pay?
- What can I do if I can't pay my bill?
- I'm moving house, what do I need to do?
Financial questions and answers
The following questions and answers have been designed to try and answer many of the standard questions that past experience has shown our users ask when new tax bills are issued.
- Why has my council tax increased?
- What Services does the Greater London Authority (GLA) provide?
- How much of my council tax goes on Haringey Services and how much on the Greater London Authority (GLA)?
- How much of Haringey services are paid for by council tax?
- How is the budget of £404m split?
- What items make up ‘Other services’ of £29.7m?
- Why are these items not shown separately?
- Why are Alexandra Palace costs not shown in the booklet?
- Efficiency Savings
What is Council Tax?
Council Tax is a property based tax which was introduced on 1 April 1993 to replace Community Charge. The Primary Legislation relating to council tax is contained within the Local Government Finance Act 1992. Further information can be found on the UK Statute Law Database (see the external links section below).
Who has to pay Council Tax?
Council Tax is paid by home owners or tenants.
We work out who has to pay by seeing who comes first in the following list:
- A freeholder who lives in the property
- A leaseholder who lives in the property
- A tenant who lives in the property
- Someone who has a license to live in the property
- Any other person (including squatters) who lives in the property
- The owner of an unoccupied property
If you do not live in your home but own it or have a tenancy of six months or more, you must still pay council tax if your property is:
- Empty
- A second home
- A care home, nursing home or hostel
- Lived in by more than one household (known as 'Houses in Multiple Occupation' HMO)
- Lived in by a minister of religion or a religious community
- Sometimes used by an employer whose staff live at the property
Joint Liability
More than one person may be jointly liable for council tax if they live in the property and are joint owners or tenants. Residents who are married or live together as a couple (single sex and opposite sex) will also be jointly liable.
Joint Liability means that each individual is responsible for the whole amount of council tax due for the property.
|Back to topHow much will I have to pay?
The council tax you pay depends on the value of the property in April 1991, as set by the Government's Valuation Office Agency (VOA) not the council.
Every property is in one of eight valuation bands (A to H). The amount of council tax payable for each dwelling is calculated with reference to the 8 valuation bands.
View the council tax charges per band for properties within Haringey.
For further information regarding the band of your property, please visit the Valuation Office Agency website (see external links section below).
|Back to topHow can I pay?
Payments should be received by the first day of the month.
Direct Debit saves you time and effort and payments are guaranteed. A choice of payment date is offered. Download a direct debit mandate from the attached files section below.
If you currently pay your council tax to Haringey Council by cash, cheque or standing order you can now pay by Allpay payment card. This free to use card will allow you to pay your council tax locally where you see a post office, Pay Point or Pay Zone sign. If you have not received a card, please contact customer services on 020 8489 3557.
Payments can be made by credit or debit card by phoning 020 8489 1000 and selecting option 1 for an automated service, or 020 8489 1000 to speak to a Customer Services Officer or make a payment online.
Most banks and building societies offer telephone banking and online banking services. To make a payment, contact your bank or building society and quote Haringey's bank account number 90662997, sort code 60-24-23, and your council tax account number.
You may pay by cheque, cash, debit or credit card or postal order at a bank or post office. Please note a fee may be charged if you pay at a bank other than your branch and a standard fee is charged by the Post Office.
|Back to topWhat can I do if I can't pay my bill?
Please contact us straight away if you cannot pay or are falling behind with your payments. We will do all we can to help you. The sooner you get in touch, the more help and advice we will be able to offer.
Confidential debt counselling is available from Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). There are two CAB's in Haringey (note the Hornsey CAB office is currently closed to personal callers).
- Tottenham Citizens Advice Bureau - 551B Tottenham High Road, N17 6SB
- Turnpike Lane Citizens Advice Bureau - 14A Willoughby Road, Hornsey, London, N8 0JJ
Opening times,and further information can be found on the Citizens Advice Bureau website (see the external links section below) or by phoning 0844 8269715.
|Back to topI'm moving house. What do I need to do?
If you are moving, please let us know as soon as possible with the details of your vacation, including the names of the people moving into your old address so that we can change your account quickly.
Just ring us on 020 8489 1000 or complete an online change of address form or write to us at Benefits and Local Taxation Division, P O Box 10505, Wood Green, London, N22 7WJ or email council.tax@haringey.gov.uk
|Back to topWhy has my council tax increased?
Even though there is a very high level of demand for services provided by the authority, we have kept this increase as low as possible by identifying £9.6 million of savings across the council.
Haringey's overall increase of 1.54% is made up 1.95% for Haringey Council and no increase for the London Mayor. The majority of the funding for the Councils net expenditure comes from Government grant (75%) either through nationally redistributed business rates (28%), direct government revenue support grant (7%) and dedicated schools grant (40%). More detail is provided on page 74 of the booklet sent with your Council Tax bill, titled ‘Council Tax and Business Rates for 2009-2010’ (see attached files section below for a PDF copy of this).
The overall increase in Council Tax, including that part of the tax set by the Mayor of London, will amount to 44p per week on a band D home; made up 44p for the Haringey element and no increase for the GLA element.
This rise will enable key services in Children and Young People (that includes education) and Adult Social Care, many of which help the most vulnerable and needy in our community, to be safeguarded and improved. Almost three-quarters of the money the Council will spend on services for Haringey residents in the coming year will be spent on these two areas.
|Back to topWhat services does the Greater London Authority (GLA) provide?
The Greater London Authority provides London wide services which include:
- Metropolitan Police Authority
- Transport for London
- London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
- London Development Agency
- From 2007/08 it also includes the contribution agreed with Government towards delivering a successful 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games in London.
Further information relating to these services can be found in the booklet sent with your Council Tax bill, titled ‘Council Tax and Business Rates for 2009-2010’ on pages 97 to 101 (see attached files section for a PDF copy of this).
More information is available on the budget and GLA activities as a whole on the GLA website (see External Links section below) or you can contact the GLA direct on 020 7983 4000.
|Back to topHow much of my council tax goes on Haringey services and how much on the Greater London Authority (GLA)?
The amount depends on what band your home is in. The following table sets out the different amounts for each home.
Valuation Band | Total Council Tax £ | Haringey Services £ | Greater London Authority £ |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 996.11 | 789.56 | 206.55 |
B | 1,162.11 | 921.14 | 240.97 |
C | 1,328.13 | 1,052.73 | 275.40 |
D | 1,494.14 | 1,184.32 | 309.82 |
E | 1,826.06 | 1,447.39 | 378.67 |
F | 2,158.22 | 1,710.70 | 447.52 |
G | 2,490.24 | 1,973.87 | 516.37 |
H | 2,988.29 | 2,368.65 | 619.64 |
On a Band D home the total Council Tax payable of £1,494.14 will be split as follows:-
- Haringey Services £1,184.32 (79%)
- Greater London Authority £309.82 (21%)
How much of Haringey services are paid for by council tax?
The Haringey part of your Council Tax will raise £100.7 million to go towards Council Services. This is around 25% of the total net cost. Approximately 28% of Haringey services are paid for by Business Rates, 7% from revenue support grant and 40% from dedicated schools grant.
| £m | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Council Tax | 100.7 | 25 |
| Business rate | 115.8 | 28 |
| Revenue support grant | 26.7 | 7 |
| Dedicated schools grant | 165.6 | 40 |
| Total cost of Services provided by Haringey | 408.8 | 100 |
How is the spending on services of £404m split?
The table shows how the budget is split. More detail is provided in the booklet sent with your Council Tax bill on page 75, titled ‘Council Tax and Business Rates for 2009-2010’ (see attached files section below for a PDF copy of this).
| Service | Net Spending £m |
|---|---|
| Children and Young People (including schools) | 237.6 |
| Adult Social Care | 66.7 |
| Highways | 14.3 |
| Other Housing | 13.0 |
| Planning and Economic Development | 3.9 |
| Recreation and Tourism | 17.4 |
| Environmental Health | 3.9 |
| Refuse Collection | 18.3 |
| Other Services | 29.7 |
| Total | 404.8 |
The Housing Revenue Account (council homes) has budgeted to make a small surplus of £0.5m in 2008/09 and a small surplus of £0.7m in 2009/10.
There is a £4m contribution to balances in 2009/10 to give a total cost of services of £408.8m.
|Back to topWhat items make up ‘Other services’ of £29.7m on the above table?
The table below shows the items that make up ‘other services’. More detail is provided in the booklet sent with your Council Tax bill, titled ‘Council Tax and Business Rate for 2009 - 2010’ on page 75.
| Service | Net spending £m |
|---|---|
| Policy, Performance, Partnerships and Communications | 11.1 |
| Urban Environment | 1.1 |
| Corporate Resources | 5.0 |
| Non Service Revenue (costs not directly linked to services) | 12.5 |
| Total | 29.7 |
Other services are shown in previous table and make up 7.3% of the budget. Why are these items not shown separately?
Government fixes much of the information set out in the booklet. Government gives us standard headings for the financial information that we must follow.
|Back to topWhy are Alexandra Palace costs not shown in the booklet?
Government fixes much of the information set out in the booklet and how it is presented. If you would like further information on Alexandra Palace accounts we will be happy to send you our ‘Statement of Accounts’.
|Back to topEfficiency Savings
(1) Explain what has been included in the £10.8m efficiency savings forecast for Haringey Council in the 2008/09 financial year?
The 2008/09 £10.8m efficiency savings forecast represents the total of projected efficiency savings for all Haringey Council Services. This is set against a central Government 3% cashable efficiency savings target per annum, for each of the financial years 2008/09 to 2010/11 for all Councils. The £10.8m forecast has been agreed formally by Haringey Council.
(2) How much of the £10.8m value is expected to be achieved by 31 March 2009 and when will this be reported?
The total of the £10.8m efficiency savings forecast is expected to be achieved by 31 March 2009.
Actual achievement of efficiency savings (in period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009) compared with the forecast for 2008/09 will be reported to Central Government in July 2009; through a National Indicator 179 - Total net value of ongoing cash-releasing value for money gains for 2008/09 financial year.
From 1 April 2010, the accompanying Council Tax leaflet for 2010/11 Haringey Council Tax bills will contain information on the actual levels of efficiency savings achieved compared with the forecast of £10.8m, and this will be reported through National Indicator 179.
(3) How are the savings per Band D dwelling calculated?
Saving per Band D dwelling - London Borough of Haringey
| Forecast Efficiency Savings 2008/09 | a | £0,842,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Haringey 2007 Tax setting taxbase* | b | 84,468 |
| Saving per Band D Dwelling - Haringey | a/b | £128 |
Saving per Band D dwelling - London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)
| Forecast Efficiency Saving 2008/09 | c | £4,724,000 |
|---|---|---|
| LFEPA 2007 Taxbase* for all London Boroughs | d | 2,903,836 |
| Saving per Band D Dwelling - LFEPA | c/d | £2 |
* Taxbase is a measure of the number of properties equivalent to Band D for council tax in an area.
| Filename | Filetype | Size |
|---|---|---|
council tax and business rates for 2009-2010.pdf  | 407K | |
| council tax and business rates for 2008-2009.pdf | 411K | |
| council tax and business rates for 2007-2008.pdf | 477K | |
| council tax and business rates for 2006-2007.pdf | 1105K | |
| council tax and business rates for 2005-2006.pdf | 707K | |
| direct debit mandate.pdf | 38K | |
| PDF documents require Adobe Acrobat reader. Please click here to download. | ||
Useful External Links
The following links are not part of the Haringey Council website. Please read our legal disclaimer before using these links
- Greater London Authority budget information
- UK Statute Law Database
- Valuation Office Agency
- Citizens Advice Bureau
Update MePage Last Updated: 25 February 2010
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- Council, government and democracy > Councils > Council tax and finance
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