How to get your £150 Council Tax Rebate

£1 pound coins lie on top of a Council Tax billReading residents who live in Band A – D properties and pay their Council Tax by direct debit are due to begin receiving their £150 ‘rebate’ payments (May 2022).

Payments will go to 50,000 residents in total. The process will take up to two weeks to be completed.

73% of all Band A to D Council Tax payers in Reading pay by direct debit, and the Council will use residents’ existing direct debit details to pay the money direct into people’s bank accounts.

Eligible residents who do not pay their council tax by direct debit will then be invited to apply for their payments via a dedicated link which will be added to the Council’s website at Council Tax rebate – Reading Borough Council. The online application will be added to the site when this process begins, currently expected to be in two weeks. It will be widely publicised at the time and over the following weeks and months.

You can check your council tax band on the Government website, and find out more, including how to get help with energy bills if you are not eligible for the £150 rebate, on the council’s website.

For residents who need help with energy bills but are not eligible for the £150 rebate, such as households on income support in higher bands (E-H), local authorities have also received discretionary funding from Government to help. These residents will also be invited to apply for discretionary payments of £150. This application process is expected to begin following approval of the discretionary application criteria later this month.

More information on the Council Tax rebate scheme, as well as the discretionary scheme, can be found at Council Tax rebate – Reading Borough Council. This webpage will be updated regularly throughout the process.