Do i have to pay council tax?

Council Tax - Will I have to pay?

• Hi This is going to be a bit difficult to explain so I'll do my best: I'm a Language Assistant working in Bexley and my contract for next year will start on October 1st and will end on June 30th 2012. As a language assistant, during my contract, I am exempt from Council Tax and all income taxes (except for the NHS) and I thus have the status of a student when it comes to tax. I've found myself a nice place to live in, it's a student house, and my contract runs from September 1st to August 5th. There is no Council Tax to pay...unless you don't have the status of a student. Outside my contract as a language assistant, I do not have that status, which means in September, I won't have that status yet, and in July & August, I won't have it anymore. Will I therefore have to pay for council tax during the months of September, July and August? I will not be working at all during those 3 months and I won't have more than....let's say £4,000 on my bank account. Hope someone will tell me I won't have to pay because if I do have to, well, I'd rather not think about it... Thanks.

• Answer:

  Council tax is completely separate from income tax and the rules relating to each are different as are the circumstances relating to exemptions etc. You are exempt from income tax in the UK under a "double taxation" exemption that is mainly directed at teachers. I assume this means you will have to pay income tax in your home country, not that this is relevant to this question. This is nothing to do with you being a student - students generally have the same income tax liability as everyone else. Council tax is a property tax paid to the local council. The amount payable depends on the number of adults living in the house. But students don't count towards this number, so if the only adult occupants are students there will be no council tax to pay. As a language assistant I think you are classed as a student for these purposes so you are not liable for council tax. However, I am guessing that this language assistant job is part of your studies and that you actually are a genuine student. In which case even before and after your language assistant contract you will still be entitled to the council tax exemption. Even if you are not deemed a student at these times, the unemployed are entitled to a discount on council tax, and there is a discount if only one person lives in the property. In all cases, the council will send you a bill for the full amount unless you inform them that you are a student, or unemployed, or living there alone. So it is up to you to inform the council as soon as you move in that you are there and what your status is. It is not up to your landlady to do this for you. It is quite likely that the people at the council might not understand what a language assistant is or that you are probably entitled to be treated as a student. It might be useful to you to be prepared to counter this. If you are here through an organised scheme (eg British Council) then hopefully they will have information to help you.