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CChallenge Council Tax Band
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How to challenge your Council Tax band, step by step

The five steps to challenge your Council Tax band yourself, free, and what each one involves. Or let our free check and £39 challenge do the slow parts.

Reading time
5 min
Published

You can challenge your Council Tax band yourself, for free. What decides it is evidence: similar homes near you in a lower band. Finding them is most of the work, and it's the part our service does for you. Here are both ways, so you can choose.

Doing it yourself

Doing it yourself · freeFive steps, and what each one involves
  1. 1
    Look up your band on GOV.UK
  2. 2
    Find similar homes in a lower bandThe slow part
    • List the homes like yours nearby: your street first, then the streets around it (how to choose them).
    For every home on your list
    • Look it up on GOV.UK, one address at a time, and note its band.
    • Find its type, floors, rooms and when it was built, from old sale listings and Street View.
    • Check the council’s planning search for an extension or conversion since 1991.
    • Sort the list: a strong match, a possible one, or not comparable.
    • Keep up to five of the closest matches in a lower band.
    • Look for any sale of your home from 1989–93 (2001–05 in Wales): where to find one.
  3. Of the homes that match yours well, are most in a lower band?
    NoStop here. A review can move a band up as well as down (when not to challenge).
    YesYou have a case worth making. Carry on.
  4. 3
    Fill in the form
    • Work out your route: a band review, or a proposal if you became the payer or your band changed in the last six months (which applies).
    • Download the VO 7455 for England or Wales and fill it in. Question 1 depends on your route.
    • List your similar homes on a separate sheet: each address, its band and why it matches yours.
    • Sign and date it.
  5. 4
    Send it
    • Email the form and your list to [email protected] with a short covering note: the address, your band, the band you’re asking for and your evidence. Or post it.
    • Keep a copy, with proof of when you sent it.
    • Keep paying your bill as it is while you wait.
  6. 5
    Follow it upIf needed
    • Chase if nothing is acknowledged within 28 days.
    • Expect a decision within 4 months for a proposal, or 12 for a band review (how long each stage takes).
    • If your band comes down, ask your council for what you overpaid (how far back).

The green links open the guide for each step, with the detail. Step 2 is the long one: GOV.UK shows one address at a time and doesn't tell you which homes are like yours, so finding and matching them is down to you.

Using our service

With usFree until you know whether you have a case

Step 1 of 7

FreeAbout a minute. No card, no sign-up.
£39, optionalOffered only when the check finds a case.

The free check does steps 1 and 2: it reads the bands at your postcode and the postcodes around it, compares each home with yours on type, age, rooms and size, and tells you whether there's a case. If there is, the £39 challenge picks the comparables, writes them into your email to the Valuation Office, part-fills the form and reminds you when to chase. You read it, sign the form and send it yourself.

Before you start

  • A review can raise a band as well as lower it. Only go ahead if most of the homes that match yours well are in a lower band (when not to challenge).
  • Keep paying your bill as it is until there's a decision. If your band comes down, the council repays or credits the difference.
  • Scotland has its own route, through the local Assessor (the Scotland guide). Northern Ireland has no Council Tax.
  • How the bands work, from the 1991 values to how the bill is worked out, is in Council Tax bands explained.

Every guide in the library

Related guides
5 min readHow to find comparable properties for your band challengeRead 5 min readCouncil Tax challenge form (VO 7455): blank form and how to fill it inRead 4 min readWhen not to challenge your Council Tax bandRead
Official sources

Links open on GOV.UK. We explain the rules in plain English; the official guidance is always definitive.

Free check · 30 seconds

See how your band compares with similar homes.

The check grades the evidence for your postcode, including when a challenge isn’t worth making. It’s free; the £39 challenge is optional.