Council tax resources

Why does my bill show a balance outstanding?
(council tax and national non domestic rate)
The bills were produced as at 13th February (NNDR) or 20th February 2009 (CT). If you made a payment since that date then this will not be included. Your new instalments do not include any debit balance bought forward.

I want to spread my payments to March not January.
You can do this if you pay by direct debit only. If you already pay by direct debit you can go to 'Say it' and complete a form with your request.

If you do not already pay by direct debit, phone the council tax office with your bank details and your first payment can be collected and the direct debit set up.

This is not an option for Business Rate payers.

I can't pay on the 1st of the month.
If you agree to pay by direct debit there are alternative dates available, 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, or 25th for council tax. Phone the council tax office with your bank details and your first payment can be collected and the direct debit set up. Alternatively if you have a cash booklet you can fill in & return the direct debit instruction.

There is no alternative date for other methods of payment for CT. NDR payers are all due on the 1st of the month.

How much has my bill gone up by?
Go to http: http://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/CTLevels.pdf
How much am I paying the Greater London Authority this year?
This is shown on your bill. More information about the GLA is available either in you're A- Z or go to http://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/a-z_for_web.pdf

I want to make a payment with my credit/debit card
Visit online payments and other methods of payment

I used to pay my council tax by the ebilling system online but the facility does not appear to be available                              

From 1st April 2009, the council tax office will be withdrawing the current e billing facility. A replacement online bill facility will be available at a later date.  If you were receiving your bill electronically, you will be contacted to see if you wish to register for the new scheme, once in place.  Your records have been amended so that you will receive a paper bill for the council tax due from 1st April 2009.  You will no longer receive monthly email reminders so must make arrangements for payment to be received on, or before, the due date if you do not already pay by direct debit.

Where is my bill?
The bills will be sent out via Royal Mail on 12th March. 

I've got an appeal outstanding on my band/rateable value, do I have to pay this bill?

Yes. If your appeal is successful and you have overpaid, this can be refunded to you but in the meantime the bill must be paid on the existing charge based on the values shown on the Valuation Office records.

Where is my small business relief? (NNDR)
Unless your rateable value is under 10,000 you will not get any relief on your bill but you will be charged at the lower multiplier.

What is the multiplier this year? (NNDR)
For properties with a rateable value of £21,500 and over 0.485

For properties with a rateable value of below £21,500 and who qualify for small business relief, it is 0.481

What is the supplement on my bill? (NNDR)
This is the charge for customers who have a rateable value over £21,500. It is to pay for the new scheme for small businesses introduced from 1st April 2005 by Central Government. This means that your rates bill is worked out using the higher multiplier of 0.485 rather than the lower multiplier of 0.481. To work this out you take the difference between the higher and lower multiplier, 0.004 and multiply by the rateable value.

I've told you my circumstances have changed, when will I get my new bill with the changes on it (CT & NNDR)
We cannot send any new bills for 2009 until after the 1st April 2009.

I don't want to pay for the GLA
This is part of the amount you have to pay. The council does not have any discretion to reduce this amount. If you want to discuss this further please call the Greater London Authority.

Where is my standing order form?
From 1st April 2007 standing order forms are not being issued to customers as standard practice. If you still want to pay by standing order, you can set this up direct with your bank or building society using the following details which are on the reverse of your bill:-

Council tax - National Westminster Bank
St Anns Road
315 Station Road
Harrow
HA1 2AD

Sort Code: 60 10 10
Account Number : 61742473
Account Name: London Borough of Harrow

NDR - National Westminster Bank
St Anns Road
315 Station Road
Harrow
HA1 2AD

Sort Code: 60 10 10
Account Number : 02046733
Account Name: London Borough of Harrow

You must ensure that the relevant account number is quoted with no additional information or gaps otherwise your payment may default to the suspense account.

Why have you changed my instalment date?
Letters were sent to Card customers who were paying on any date other than the 1st telling them that this would be changed from 1st April 2008. Card payers were also told this in July 2007 when the letter about credit card charging was sent.

Why am I not getting my exemption/empty property relief (NDR)
New legislation came in from 1st April 2008 stopping the 50% empty property relief and also putting a time limit on most previous 'no end date' exemptions. This means the full charge becomes due 3 months after the property first becomes empty unless

a) it is an industrial property. In which case the exemption lasts a maximum of 6 months.
b) It is a listed building in which case the exemption remains in place until reoccupied
c) It is an empty property held by administrators

A letter about these changes was sent to those cases getting EPR or exempt in November last year.