Your council tax bill explained

• Kent County Council
• The Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent
• Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority
• Parish council contact details

Who is liable (responsible) for paying council tax:

• Resident freeholder: house owners who legally own both the property and the land it’s built on
• Resident leaseholder: flat owners who have the legal right to live in the property for the length of their lease
• Tenant: a private tenant (where the owner is not living there) or council house tenant
• Person with contractual licence to occupy: for example, a lodger
• Resident: for example, a squatter.

A resident is someone aged 18 or over who lives in the property as their only or main home. A property will be exempt (which means no one has to pay council tax for the property) if it is occupied only by people under the age of 18.

All people who fall into the same group are jointly responsible for paying the council tax. This includes couples living together and joint tenants.

Sometimes the owner, even if not living in the property, will be responsible for paying the council tax.

Examples of when this may apply include:

• houses in multiple occupation
• if the property is divided into bedsits with shared facilities, such as the bathroom
• hostels, such as those run by the Salvation Army
• properties occupied by ministers of religion, where the church or religious organisation owns the property
• religious communities
• a property where the owner is not normally resident, but the occupier is employed by them in domestic service
• residential care homes
• nursing homes
• asylum seekers housed under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

If you are considered responsible for paying but you think this is wrong, you can appeal.

• Find out how to appeal or dispute your council tax bill

Joint and several liability

This is a legal term, which means that when more than one person is held responsible for paying and is billed, either or any of them can be required to pay the full amount outstanding.

Students have been excluded from the joint and several liability rule. This means that for properties not classed as houses in multiple occupation and where students share with non-students, only the non-student(s) will be billed and have to pay the council tax.

Newly built or converted properties

If a property is not occupied as soon as it is finished, we will issue a completion notice.

This is a formal notice which sets the date that we think the property will be structurally completed and ready for occupation.

We will inspect your property regularly while it is being built or changed. When we think it is structurally complete or that the remaining work could be completed within three months, we will serve you a completion notice.

What if the remaining work can't be reasonably complete by the completion date?

You can appeal within 28 days from the date the notice was sent. Information will be sent with the completion notice.

• Find out how to appeal

During March we send council tax bills to all households to show how much is due for the year and when it needs to be paid.

We also send new notification letters to people in receipt of Council Tax Support and housing benefit to show what their awards will be from 1 April.

The adult social care precept is an amount charged by Kent County Council (KCC) to help fund adult social care.

The government has allowed councils that provide social care to adults to increase their share of council tax.

This additional council tax charge is called the adult social care precept, which started in 2016.

It is a government requirement that this precept is shown as a separate line on the bill with an amount which is the total for this additional precept, rather than the total spend on adult social care.

The 3% increase shown on the bill is an increase on the whole KCC amount, which results in a total KCC increase of 2.998% (or 3.0% when rounded up).

The percentage increase is calculated by the total for KCC and the adult social care precept.

• In 2024/23 the total precept was £1610.82 (£1,377.81 plus £233.01)
• In 2023/24 the total precept was £1534.23 (£1,331.82 plus £202.41)
• in 2022/23 the total precept was £1,461.24 (£1,287.99 plus £173.25)
• in 2021/22 the total precept was £1,418.76 (£1,259.64 plus £159.12)
• in 2020/21 the total precept was £1,351.26 (£1,232.64 plus £118.62)
• in 2019/20 the total precept was £1,299.42 (£1,206.72 plus £92.70)

The income generated from this charge is ring-fenced, meaning it can only be used for adult social care services.

KCC is the authority which provides adult social care services, and we collect this charge on their behalf.

Statement concerning adult social care funding

The government has published a letter providing an update on regulations changing how the adult social care precept is presented on council tax bills.

The Council Tax (Demand Notices and Prescribed Classes of Dwellings)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2025 removes the requirement for billing authorities to include bespoke information on the adult social care precept on council tax bills from 1 April 2025 to 2026.

An additional charge can be applied to your council tax bill in certain circumstances, such as empty properties and second homes.

• Find out about council tax premiums

If you appeal against your council tax, you must continue with your regular payments until your appeal has been dealt with.

• See the appeals and disputes page for information about how to appeal your bill.

Council tax is a priority bill and must be paid by those responsible. If it’s not paid on time, we may take recovery action and add costs to your account.

• Find out about arrears and debt recovery action

If you're struggling to pay your council tax, you may be eligible for support.

• Help with paying

If you wish to request a copy of your latest council tax bill, complete the form below.

You will be asked to provide your name, address and contact details.

• Request a copy of your latest council tax bill