Council tax when you move house
Yes — and you have to tell both of them. Council tax is charged against the property, not the person, so the council you are leaving has to close your account and the council you are moving to has to open a new one. Neither happens on its own, and nobody passes the message along between them.
If you only tell the new council, the old one keeps billing you for a house you no longer live in, and you end up disputing it months later. That is the whole failure mode, and it is common.
What to do, in order
1. After you have moved in, tell the old council. Give them your move-out date and a forwarding address. They will issue a final bill, or refund a credit if you have overpaid — which you often have, because most people pay in ten monthly instalments across a twelve-month year.
2. Tell the new council. Find the right authority by postcode at gov.uk/find-local-council — it is not always the one you would guess, particularly on a boundary. Set up the Direct Debit and confirm the band and the monthly amount in writing.
3. Claim the single-person discount if it applies. If you are the only adult living at the property you get 25% off, but it is not automatic — you have to apply to the new council, at gov.uk/apply-for-council-tax-discount. People who move from a shared house to living alone routinely pay full rate for months without realising.
What about the gap between properties?
If there is a period where you are liable for both — completion on one before you leave the other — you are liable for both bills for those days. Some councils offer a short exemption on an empty, unfurnished property, but it is discretionary, varies by council, and several have removed it entirely. Ask your specific council rather than assuming; the answer genuinely differs by postcode.
Bands, briefly
Your band is set by the Valuation Office Agency on the property's value at a fixed historic date, not on what you paid for it. Moving does not re-band a house, and a higher purchase price does not move you up a band.
| Nation | Bands |
|---|---|
| England | A to H |
| Wales | A to I — the only UK nation with a band I |
| Scotland | A to H, and the bill includes water and sewerage charges |
| Northern Ireland | No council tax at all — see below |
Scotland
Register through mygov.scot/council-tax/register. The important practical difference is that water and sewerage charges are collected with the council tax bill rather than billed separately by a water company, so the headline figure looks higher than an English one for the same band.
Northern Ireland
There is no council tax in Northern Ireland. Domestic property is charged rates, administered by Land & Property Services rather than the council, and the bill is made up of a regional rate and a district rate. Register at nidirect.gov.uk/articles/sign-rates or call LPS on 0300 200 7801.
The short version
Tell both councils after you move in. Get the final bill or the refund from the old one in writing. Claim the single-person discount if you are now on your own. And check whether your new council offers an empty-property exemption before you assume you are covered for the overlap.
Last checked 2026-09-22 against the official sources below. Rates and fees change — if you are reading this long after that date, follow the links and confirm.
The printable version
Everything above, on paper, with somewhere to write.
You do not need this to use the guide. It exists because a checklist you tick with a biro is easier to finish than a web page you keep scrolling back to.
