I'm behind on my council tax or rates

In the United Kingdom

1. England: when a council tax reminder arrives, pay it within 7 days, or call your council the same day if you cannotPay what the reminder asks within 7 days of the date on it, or if you cannot, call your council the same day and ask it to confirm any plan in writing.England only

   How long

   Pay what the reminder asks within 7 days of the date on it, or if you cannot, call your council the same day and ask it to confirm any plan in writing. A call alone does not stop the dates on the reminder. If you pay it, the debt is cleared and you carry on paying in instalments. If you miss another payment that year, a second reminder can follow: GOV.UK says you get at most 2 reminders in a financial year (1 April to 31 March). After a second reminder, if you miss any later payment that year, the rest of the year's bill is due the next day, with no reminder first.

   Starts

   the date printed on the reminder notice. The rules count the day it is issued as day 1, so do not wait for the day it arrives. Citizens Advice says a reminder comes about 2 weeks after you miss a payment.

   If missed

   the rest of the year's council tax falls due, not just the missed payment: the rules make it due within a further 7 days, counting from the day the reminder's 7 days ran out. The council can then ask a magistrates' court for a liability order (a court order that lets it collect the debt) and add costs, and the rules do not make it send a final notice first. Citizens Advice says councils usually send one giving 7 days, but do not wait for it: call your council or a free debt adviser as soon as the reminder runs out. See the liability order clock.

   It lets you

   carry on paying by instalments if you pay the reminder in time. If you cannot pay it, GOV.UK says to contact your council as soon as possible: you can ask to spread the bill over 12 months instead of the usual 10 to cut each payment, and the council may give a one-off discount if you still cannot pay. Also ask it to check Council Tax Reduction (if your income is low or you get benefits) and any discount, such as for living alone. Citizens Advice says the council should look at other options before going to court, such as an affordable repayment plan or time to apply for Council Tax Reduction, so ask early.

   Where this differs: England only. Wales has different notices from 1 April 2026, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own steps: see their clocks. GOV.UK's page does not name the nation, but the 7-day reminder rule in regulation 23 applies to billing authorities in England. The dates on your own letters come first.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at GOV.UK: Pay Council Tax arrears

2. Scotland: when a council tax reminder arrives, pay it within 7 days, or call your council the same day if you cannotBring your payments up to date within 7 days of the reminder, or if you cannot, call your council the same day and ask it to confirm any plan in writing.Scotland

   How long

   Bring your payments up to date within 7 days of the reminder, or if you cannot, call your council the same day and ask it to confirm any plan in writing. A call alone does not stop the 7 days. If you pay what it asks, you carry on paying in instalments. If you miss a payment after 31 December, or a third payment in the same financial year, you get a final notice for the full remaining balance instead of a reminder.

   Starts

   the date printed on the reminder. mygov.scot does not say how the 7 days are counted, so count from that date, not the day it arrives. Citizens Advice Scotland says a reminder comes about 2 weeks after you miss a payment.

   If missed

   you have to pay the full remaining balance for the year, and mygov.scot says you get another 7 days to pay it. If you do not pay after the final notice, mygov.scot says the council can add 10% to what you owe and ask a sheriff officer to agree a payment with you or to take the money from your earnings or bank account. The next step is a summary warrant: see the clock below.

   It lets you

   ask your council to let you pay in smaller amounts, and to check for a discount, a reduction or an exemption. mygov.scot says the Council Tax Reduction scheme can cut a bill by up to 100%, and the council checks your income, savings and household.

   Where this differs: Scotland only. Your council tax bill also carries public water and sewerage charges, so missing it can leave you owing both (Citizens Advice Scotland). The dates on your own letters come first.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at mygov.scot: If you cannot pay your Council Tax

3. Northern Ireland: when a rates reminder arrives, pay it within 7 days, or call Land & Property Services the same day if you cannotPay the reminder within 7 days, or if you cannot, call Land & Property Services on 0300 200 7801 the same day: nidirect says it may be possible to make a different payment arrangement.Northern Ireland

   How long

   Pay the reminder within 7 days, or if you cannot, call Land & Property Services on 0300 200 7801 the same day: nidirect says it may be possible to make a different payment arrangement. Ask for any arrangement in writing, because nidirect says that if you do not pay within seven days you get a final notice. If you pay within 7 days, your instalment arrangement stays in place. If you do not pay within 7 days, nidirect says you get a final notice, which gives you 10 days to pay the full amount left on the bill. Go by the date on your own letter.

   Starts

   the date on the reminder from Land & Property Services (LPS), which sends it for a missed instalment. nidirect does not say how the 7 days are counted, so count from the date printed on it, not the day it arrives.

   If missed

   you lose the automatic right to pay by instalments and have to pay the full amount left on the bill within 10 days of the final notice. After that LPS can start legal action by issuing a 'Process in Debt' (court papers about the debt), which adds costs. nidirect says that if you pay the rate debt and the extra costs before the court date, LPS will not take further legal action.

   It lets you

   keep your instalment arrangement by paying the reminder in time. If you cannot pay, nidirect says to contact LPS, which may be able to create a payment plan. Before you call, nidirect says to list all income including your partner's, any benefits, and contributions from others in the home. Ask about help with the bill: Rate Rebate if you get Universal Credit, or Housing Benefit and Rate Relief if you or your partner are of State Pension age. nidirect says to keep paying your rates while LPS looks at an application for help.

   Where this differs: Northern Ireland only. It has domestic rates, not council tax, and Land & Property Services is the creditor: it is not an independent adviser, so also call Advice NI or StepChange. The step after a court judgment is the Notice of Intention to Enforce clock. The dates on your own letters come first.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at nidirect: What happens if you miss an instalment payment

4. Wales: when you miss a council tax payment, call your council; a final notice gives you 21 daysPay what a reminder asks by the date on it, or if you cannot, call your council the same day and ask it to confirm any plan in writing: a call alone does not stop a final notice, which can follow 14 days after a reminder.Wales

   How long

   Pay what a reminder asks by the date on it, or if you cannot, call your council the same day and ask it to confirm any plan in writing: a call alone does not stop a final notice, which can follow 14 days after a reminder. A final notice has to give you 21 days to pay what it states: count the date printed on it as day 1, not the day it arrives. The Welsh Government says households get a minimum of 63 days from a missed payment before the council can apply to court for a liability order.

   Starts

   the day the missed payment was due. A reminder may follow, but the council does not have to send one. A final notice cannot be sent until at least 41 days after the missed payment was due, and at least 14 days after the latest reminder.

   If missed

   the rest of the year's council tax is due the next day, and the council may then ask a magistrates' court for a liability order (a court order that lets it collect the debt): see the England and Wales liability order clock. The rules for sending someone to prison for council tax now apply to councils in England only, not Wales.

   It lets you

   ask your council to let you pay the overdue amount over time, on top of your normal payments (Citizens Advice Wales). Ask it to check Council Tax Reduction and any discount: Welsh Government guidance tells councils to look for them. Advicelink Cymru gives free advice on 0800 702 2020.

   Where this differs: Wales only, from 1 April 2026. Pages and letters written before then may show the old rule of 7 days: read the dates on your own letters first. Citizens Advice Wales gives 14 days for a reminder; the regulations set the 14 days as the earliest gap before a final notice, so treat 14 days from the reminder date as the earliest you could get one.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at legislation.gov.uk: Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, regulation 33 (Wales rules in force from 1 April 2026)

5. Northern Ireland: got a Notice of Intention to Enforce? Within 10 days, pay the person you owe or offer them an arrangement10 days to pay the amount on the notice in full to the person you owe, or to contact that person to see whether an arrangement can be reached. nidirect says not to contact the Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO) at this stage, because it cannot set up an arrangement or take payment yet.Northern Ireland

   Starts

   the date on the notice. nidirect does not say what the 10 days count from, so count from the date printed on it, not the day it reached you. It tells you someone has a court order to recover money from you and plans to use the Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO).

   If missed

   the person you owe can ask the EJO to enforce the judgment, and you pay the extra costs. nidirect says that can mean a custody warrant over all your goods and assets (you cannot sell your belongings), your name on the Register of Judgments for up to 12 years where the public can see it, and orders that take money from your wages or bank account or seize goods. If you are summonsed to an examination and do not go, a warrant can be issued for your arrest.

   It lets you

   stop the matter going to the EJO. nidirect says to offer to repay in full or by instalments, and that the offer should be an arrangement you can afford to keep: if it is accepted, it may stop the creditor going to the EJO.

   For unpaid rates, the person you owe is Land & Property Services (LPS). Call LPS on 0300 200 7801, not the Enforcement of Judgments Office: nidirect says the Office cannot set up an arrangement at this stage. Before this notice, LPS sends 'Process in Debt' court papers about the rates, and the court date on them comes first.

   Where this differs: Northern Ireland only. This is the step after a judgment. The earlier step, a claim or small claims pack, has its own dates in the papers: nidirect's pages did not give a reply date for it, so use the date on your papers and ask Advice NI or the court. For a judgment about your home, nidirect gives a separate notice with its own date.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at nidirect (Northern Ireland government)

6. England and Wales: a court summons for council tax: pay what it asks before the hearing date on it, or go to the hearingPay what the summons asks, with the council's costs, before the hearing date on it.England and Wales

   How long

   Pay what the summons asks, with the council's costs, before the hearing date on it. If you cannot, ask your council for a plan and still go to the hearing: a plan alone does not stop the court making the order. The court cannot make the order until 14 days after the summons was served, so the hearing date on the summons is the one to keep.

   Starts

   the day the summons is served on you: it can be handed to you, left at your home or sent by post. Count from the date on it, not the day it arrives. In England it can follow a reminder you did not pay, or a final notice; in Wales it can only follow the end of the final notice period.

   If missed

   the court makes a liability order (a court order that lets the council collect the debt) and adds costs. The court has to make it if the tax is owed and unpaid, so not being able to afford it does not stop the order: you can still ask the council for a plan. The council can then send enforcement agents (bailiffs): see the bailiff clock. Citizens Advice says it can also take a fixed share of your pay (an attachment of earnings order), take money from benefits such as Universal Credit, put a charge on your home if you own it, or apply to make you bankrupt if you owe more than £5,000. After an order, answer the council's written request for details of your job and income within 14 days of the request; if money is taken from your pay, tell the council in writing within 14 days of leaving or starting a job. Not doing either without a good reason is a criminal offence, and you can be fined.

   It lets you

   go to the hearing and give your reasons for not paying: GOV.UK says you are allowed to. If you pay what the summons asks, with the council's reasonable costs, after the summons and before the hearing, the council has to accept it and the application goes no further. Citizens Advice Wales says that even after the council applies to court you can still ask it to let you pay over time, and to ask it to take off any costs it added. Citizens Advice says that if you are vulnerable, for example disabled, seriously ill, with mental health problems or a single parent, you should talk to your council about other options.

   Where this differs: England and Wales. In Wales the council can apply the day after the final notice period ends and the whole year falls due (rules from 1 April 2026). The summons gives the hearing date: it comes before this page. Scotland uses a summary warrant, with no hearing, and Northern Ireland uses court papers from Land & Property Services: see their clocks.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at legislation.gov.uk: Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, regulation 35

7. England and Wales: a letter saying bailiffs will visit (a notice of enforcement): call a free debt adviser the same dayAt least 14 clear days before bailiffs can take your goods, and paying or offering an arrangement before the visit stops the visit and the extra fees.England and Wales

   How long

   At least 14 clear days before bailiffs can take your goods, and paying or offering an arrangement before the visit stops the visit and the extra fees. The day you get the notice, the day of the visit, Sundays and bank holidays do not count. If a free debt adviser asks for more time before the notice runs out, the notice period becomes at least 28 clear days.

   Starts

   the day the notice of enforcement reaches you. Count from the date on the notice or the day it arrived, whichever is earlier

   If missed

   bailiffs can visit and add fees, so you could owe more. Do not ignore the notice: call a free debt adviser the same day, even if the date has passed

   It lets you

   pay or offer an arrangement before the visit, which stops the visit and the extra fees, or ask a free debt adviser, before the notice runs out, to ask for the longer notice. Check who sent it: a debt collector cannot send a valid notice of enforcement, because debt collectors do not have bailiffs' powers

   Councils use enforcement agents (bailiffs) after a liability order, and this notice comes first. It covers England and Wales only: in Scotland sheriff officers act under a summary warrant, and in Northern Ireland the Enforcement of Judgments Office acts after a Notice of Intention to Enforce.

   Where this differs: England and Wales. A court can allow a shorter notice in rare cases, so read the notice for its date. Scotland uses sheriff officers and Northern Ireland the Enforcement of Judgments Office: see their clocks

   Checked 10 October 2026 at legislation.gov.uk: Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6

8. Scotland: a summary warrant or charge for payment: ask for time to pay before the 14 days endAsk for Time to Pay, or pay in full, before the 14 days on the charge for payment are up. mygov.scot says that is how to stop further action, and that free money advisers can help you ask for Time to Pay: call one the same day.Scotland

   Starts

   the date on the charge for payment, the letter a sheriff officer serves after the summary warrant: count from that date, not the day you read it. A summary warrant is a court order the council gets without a court hearing, and mygov.scot says you cannot defend not paying the debt. Call a free money adviser the day the summary warrant arrives, without waiting for the charge.

   If missed

   mygov.scot says the council can arrest your bank account (freeze it and take money from it), arrest your wages, or send sheriff officers to take things you own. The summary warrant adds a charge of 10% of the debt, and sheriff officer fees are added too. Citizens Advice Scotland says the money can be taken from a joint account.

   It lets you

   ask the sheriff court for a time to pay order (an order letting you pay in instalments): Citizens Advice Scotland calls it that, and mygov.scot says to ask before the 14 days are up. It cannot be made for a very large debt, or if one was made for the same debt before, so ask a money adviser to help. Also ask the sheriff officer, on the contact details on your copy of the summary warrant, whether you can pay in instalments (Citizens Advice Scotland). If you plan a debt payment programme, a trust deed or bankruptcy with a money adviser, the Accountant in Bankruptcy can register a six-month moratorium, during which creditors cannot serve a charge for payment or take enforcement action, though earnings arrestments already in force can continue. Only one is allowed in any 12 months.

   Where this differs: Scotland only. mygov.scot calls it a 'Time to Pay direction'; the law (Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, section 5) calls the order you ask for after a charge for payment a 'time to pay order'. A summary warrant does not usually show on your credit file (mygov.scot). If your bank account is frozen, see the bank arrestment clock in the guide 'My bank account was frozen or closed'.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at mygov.scot: Summary warrants and council tax arrears

9. England: if you disagree with your council's answer about your council tax bill, appeal to the Valuation Tribunal within 2 monthsAppeal to the Valuation Tribunal within 2 months of the council telling you its decision, or within 4 months of first writing to the council if you have had no reply.England only

   How long

   Appeal to the Valuation Tribunal within 2 months of the council telling you its decision, or within 4 months of first writing to the council if you have had no reply. GOV.UK says the council has 2 months to reply to your letter.

   Starts

   the day the council tells you its decision on your complaint that the bill is wrong. If it has not replied, count from the day you first wrote to it. Count from the date on its letter, not the day it arrives.

   If missed

   GOV.UK says you may be able to submit a late appeal if you cannot apply in time because of circumstances beyond your control. Do not count on it: appeal inside the dates, and ask the tribunal or a free adviser for help.

   It lets you

   have an independent tribunal look at the bill. GOV.UK says it is a free service but you pay your own costs. If the council decides your bill is wrong, GOV.UK says to keep paying the amounts on your original bill until the new bill arrives.

   Where this differs: England only, and only for a bill that is wrong, not a band: a wrong band goes to the Valuation Office. Wales has the Valuation Tribunal for Wales and Scotland has its own route: ask a free adviser, because this page did not check their time limits.

   Checked 10 October 2026 at GOV.UK: Appeal a Council Tax bill or fine

10. England and Wales: ask a free debt adviser today whether Breathing Space can pause action on your council tax arrearsTalk to a free debt adviser today.England and Wales

    How long

    Talk to a free debt adviser today. If it starts, it lasts up to 60 days. Council tax arrears can be included once the council has sent you a reminder notice, or once all of the year's instalments are due. Keep paying your current council tax while it runs if you can: the rules treat it as an ongoing bill.

    Starts

    the day after it is entered on the official Breathing Space register, once a free debt adviser has applied for you. You cannot apply on your own: GOV.UK says a debt adviser submits the application if it is the right thing to do. Until the adviser tells you it has started, keep to the dates on your letters.

    If missed

    if you do not ask, the council carries on to its next step. Even during Breathing Space, money already being taken from your pay under an attachment of earnings order made before it started carries on, and so do council tax deductions from Universal Credit (the rules; Citizens Advice). Ask the adviser about those.

    It lets you

    a pause while you get debt advice and make a plan. GOV.UK says enforcement action cannot be taken against you, your creditors cannot contact you about the debts included, and they cannot add interest or charges to them. The rules also stop the council asking a court to send you to prison while it runs. If you are getting mental health crisis treatment, GOV.UK says the protection lasts for the length of the treatment plus 30 days, and someone else can speak to a debt adviser for you.

    Where this differs: England and Wales only, GOV.UK says. You cannot use it if you have used it in the last 12 months, unless that was for a mental health crisis, or if you have a debt relief order or an individual voluntary arrangement, or are an undischarged bankrupt. It is free to apply, but some debt advisers charge, so use a free one. In Wales the council does not have to send a reminder, so ask the adviser whether your arrears can be included yet. Scotland has a different pause, a moratorium, through a money adviser: see the Scotland summary warrant clock. Northern Ireland: ask Advice NI.

    Checked 10 October 2026 at GOV.UK: Breathing Space (Debt Respite Scheme)

11. England only: prison for council tax is a last step. If you are told to go to court for it, goGo to the hearing if you are told to attend: the rules say the court asks about your money with you there.England only

    How long

    Go to the hearing if you are told to attend: the rules say the court asks about your money with you there. Take proof of your income and spending, and call a free debt adviser or Citizens Advice before the date.

    Starts

    only after a liability order, and only after enforcement agents (bailiffs) have told the council they could not find enough of your goods to pay the debt. The council then has to apply to a magistrates' court.

    If missed

    a court can send you to prison for up to 3 months if it decides you are deliberately not paying and the bailiffs could not recover the debt. Paying the amount stated in the warrant ends it: the council has to accept the money and you are released. This step does not come straight after a missed payment.

    It lets you

    tell the court your real situation. The court can only send you to prison if it decides your failure to pay is due to 'wilful refusal or culpable neglect': Citizens Advice puts it as deliberately not paying. GOV.UK says the court considers whether you can afford to pay and whether you have a valid reason. The court can also fix a term and hold it back on conditions. If you pay the amount in the warrant, you are released. While Breathing Space runs, the council cannot ask the court for this: see the Breathing Space clock.

    Where this differs: England only. In Wales a council cannot ask a court to send you to prison for council tax: the words 'billing authority in England' were added to this rule for Wales from 1 April 2019. Scotland and Northern Ireland use other steps: see their clocks.

    Checked 10 October 2026 at legislation.gov.uk: Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, regulation 47