COUNCIL TAX EXPLAINED
Council Tax is a tax which is set by a local authority to help pay for local services. It has both property and personal elements. The amount actually payable each year is based upon the market value of a dwelling as at 1 April 1991.
All domestic properties are valued for Council tax purposes by the District Valuer and Valuation Officer, who is a member of the Inland Revenue. He has a statutory duty to place every dwelling in one of eight valuation bands.
Council tax bills are rendered to individual households and show the amount payable, dependent on the valuation banding, broken down into individual charges that apply for each level of "precept". A precept reflects the budgetary estimates of a particular authority spread over the dwellings covered by its area. The precepting bodies in the area covered by Horsham District Council are the Council itself, West Sussex County Council, Sussex Police and individual parish councils.
There is only one Council tax bill for each dwelling, and the person liable for payment of this will generally be the resident who has the greatest legal interests in the dwelling. If there is no-one actually living in the property, then the owner will be liable for payment, subject to any discounts and/or exemptions which apply.
There are certain other cases where the owner, rather than the resident(s) of a dwelling will be liable for payment. Such instances are as follows:
- Residential Care Homes
- Religious Communities
- Certain accommodation for ministers of religion
- Houses in multiple occupation
- Certain houses with resident domestic staff
- Dwellings owned by the Ministry of Defence
- Asylum Seekers accommodation