Our five minute read, Tax Tips for UK doctors and dentists will help you save tax, get you organised with your tax affairs and make you feel at ease that everything is taken care of.
This article does not constitute advice. Professional advice should be taken prior to acting on any part of it. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice.
Council tax bands
When the council tax system first began in 1991, the Government attempted to put every property in the country into a valuation band. They were facing a deadline, and even after bringing in estate agents for backup, they couldn’t complete the job 100% accurately.
Instead of gathering all the information they needed, many properties ended up being assigned a superficial valuation.
Unfortunately, this means that even if you and your neighbour’s property are the same size, you could both be paying different amounts in council tax.
This has affected millions of taxpayers in England and Scotland, but you can quickly and easily find out if you are overpaying council tax for your home.
If you have been overpaying, you can challenge the band you have been placed in and potentially decrease your payments by £100 – £400 each year.
You can also get a refund on tax paid backdated to the time you began living in the property, all the way back to 1993.
Get to know your neighbour
Visit the Valuation Office Agency’s website to start the revaluation process for properties in England, and the Scottish Assessors website for properties in Scotland.
After checking your band, you can check the band of a neighbour’s property of similar size and value. Many properties are in the database, but if you don’t find yours, you can simply ask your neighbour what band they are in or check in with your council.
You do need to be aware that there is a chance that if you are in different bands, the other property might be the one that has been improperly valued. There is also the possibility that instead of decreasing your council tax, you actually end up with your property being bumped up to a higher band.
Know your property value
Once you know your council tax band, you need to find out the value of your home, as well as other properties of a similar size and value, in 1991 when the original valuations were done. You can use the price and date of sale of the property if you bought your house after 1991. Otherwise, you’ll need to estimate the price.
You can use a house finder website that provides data on when homes sold and for how much to help you. Check the same properties you used when you checked your council tax bands. If you find that your property is in the higher band rather than your neighbour’s, this reduces the likelihood of your council tax going up after revaluation.
If you think your case is strong enough, you can appeal to get your band revaluated. Keep in mind there’s no guarantee that you’ll be successful since there’s a variety of outcomes to challenging your council tax band, and not all of them are favourable. But with so many success stories, you may be leaving money on the table by not at least checking your council tax band.
If you decide to move forward, enlist the help of specialists, like Dental and Medical Financial Services, to ensure you receive a positive outcome.