Council Tax is set by Allerdale Borough Council and annual bills are sent in March each year. It must be paid monthly (instalments due in April must be paid within April, May within May, etc) to avoid receiving a reminder or a summons. Block payments can be made, but must be paid in advance.

The Council is duty bound to collect Council Tax in line with current regulations. If a payment is missed you will receive a reminder and will have a further seven days to pay before the whole balance becomes due. If it is not paid you will receive a summons which will cost you £50.00.

If payment of the first reminder is made you can continue to pay monthly. However, the law only allows a maximum of two reminders in any financial year. If after making payment for a second reminder your payment is late again, you will receive a Final Notice - which has to be paid in full within 14 days to avoid a summons being issued.

A summons currently costs £50.00 to issue. The summons details how much you owe and tells you when the hearing is to be held. At the hearing we will ask the Magistrates to grant a Liability Order. Once this has been granted we are able to implement recovery action to clear the debt.

Recovery action can take the form of:

You can go to prison for up to 90 days for not paying your Council Tax!

Anyone having difficulty paying their Council Tax should always contact Allerdale Borough Council as soon as possible (see contacts below). We are always available to offer help and advice.

Contacts:

1. How to pay an instalment or advice if you are unable to pay an instalment: 01900 702530

2. If you have had a summons and want to discuss payment options: 01900 702670

3. Or contact us by e-mail on revenues@allerdale.gov.uk