How to check your Council Tax band

Your band is on the official list, which you can search by postcode. Finding it takes a minute; the useful part is comparing it with homes like yours nearby. If most of them are a band lower, it's worth a closer look. If they share your band, it's probably in line with the street.

Where to look it up yourself

• England and Wales: GOV.UK's Check your Council Tax band service. Search by postcode or address; it lists each home's band and council.
• Scotland: the Scottish Assessors Association portal.
• Northern Ireland: there are no Council Tax bands. Northern Ireland uses Domestic Rates.

What to note down

For your home and each one you compare it with:

• the band;
• the type: detached, semi-detached, terrace, flat;
• roughly when it was built;
• the number of floors and rooms, and the floor area if an old sale listing gives it;
• any extension or conversion you know about.

Signs it's worth a closer look

1. Several similar homes nearby are in a lower band. They need to be well matched on type, age and size, and there should be more than one of them. Is my band wrong? explains how to judge the pattern.
2. Your band was changed in the last six months, or you started paying less than six months ago. Either gives you a legal right to challenge (proposal vs band review).
3. Something has reduced the property's value, such as part of it being demolished or a physical change to the area around it. That's a ground for a challenge at any time.

What the list can't tell you

The list shows bands, not the reasons for them. A lower-banded neighbour may be smaller, may not have had its extension in 1991, or may differ inside. A difference is a reason to look closer, not proof that your band is wrong.