Extended deadline for residents to claim Council Tax Rebate Grant

27 May 2022

The deadline for West Suffolk residents who do not pay their Council Tax by direct debit, to claim their £150 Council Tax Rebate Grant, has been extended.

The money, which doesn’t have to be paid back, is for Council Tax band A-D households including those who already pay low or no Council Tax, as a result of receiving Council Tax support. The Government announced the Rebate Grant scheme to help toward the increase in energy bills.

West Suffolk Council, working with Anglia Revenues Partnership has so far administered over £7.8million of the rebate grant to more than 51,000 eligible households.

Another 1261 households are going through the mandatory checks that the council has to carry out in order to reduce the risk of fraud.

That leaves around 8,800 households who are a still to claim the grant.

While applications were due to close on 31 May, West Suffolk Council has extended the deadline to 5 June 2022.

Residents can complete the form online at www.angliarevenues.gov.uk/WSrebate (link no longer works) - they are advised that the bank details given should be for the person named first on their Council Tax bill.

Eligible residents have until 5 June 2022 to complete the form. After this date, any eligible households will have the rebate grant applied to their Council Tax bill to reduce their payments and a new bill for a lesser amount will be sent out in mid-June. The council and Anglia Revenues Partnership will then work with any residents who due to their circumstances end up in credit on their Council Tax account, to get the Rebate Grant transferred into their bank accounts as soon as possible.

Cllr Sarah Broughton, West Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Resources and Property, said: “We are working to get this money out to eligible residents as quickly as we can to help them with their increased energy bills. Our partners at Anglia Revenues Partnership are still receiving hundreds of applications a day from West Suffolk residents. We want to give them that little bit longer including the bank holiday weekend in order to get their claim form in which is why we have extended the deadline until the end of Sunday 5 June.”

The Rebate Grant does not have to be paid back, it is not taxable so resident do not need to inform the HMRC or report it as part of a self-assessment tax return, nor will it impact on Tax Credits or need reporting as part of a declaration for this.

The Government is clear that the Council Tax Rebate payments will be disregarded when income-related benefits, including Council Tax Reduction, are being calculated. 

If people are overdrawn, there’s details on the council’s website as to how they can exercise “first right of appropriation” to ensure that they still get the money to help pay towards the increase in their energy bills.

More details including a link to the form can be found on the council’s dedicated webpage at www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/counciltax/council-tax-rebate-grant.cfm

There is also a dedicated phoneline on 01842 756456 set up by Anglia Revenues Partnership for anyone with any questions or concerns.

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