Council Tax annual billing - frequently asked questions

Council tax bills for 2025/26 are due to be issued by post on 10 March 2025. If you usually receive your bill by email, or via an online self-service account, you may receive your bill earlier.

Once the changes for 2025/26 are confirmed, these will be updated and can be viewed on the Council tax bands and charges webpage.

Any changes to council tax accounts between 1 and 10 March 2025 will not be reflected on bills issued on 10 March. If you have advised us of a change of circumstances between these dates, a revised bill will be issued after 10 March 2025 to reflect the change in charge.

Self-service issues

During the annual billing period, more people access online self-service accounts than usual. This can result in temporary issues accessing the site (this sometimes presents as a ‘WebSpeed error’). If you find you have trouble accessing your online account, please try again at a later time/date.

When logging into your self-service account, your username may not be your email address. At the point of registration you are issued with a numeric username. If you have forgotten your username, or forgotten your password, please use the forgotten your username/password links on the self-service log in page.

If you are registering for an account and are sent a link to set your password, you must set this within four hours or the link will expire and you will need to re-register to gain access.

Council tax collected by Basingstoke and Deane

Although your council tax is collected by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, the money you pay goes towards the funding of several other public service providers in your area, including Hampshire County Council, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire.

For further information visit:

Hampshire County Council website

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue website

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner website

If you have a specific enquiry about any of the other public service providers, you must contact them directly. The breakdown of how much of your council tax goes to each service provider can be found on the Guide to Council Tax 2025/26 webpage.

Devolution

As a result of Hampshire and Isle of Wight being accepted on the Devolution Priority Programme, the county council elections due to take place in May will be deferred. An election for a Hampshire Mayor will take place in May 2026. Further information regarding devolution and local government reorganisation can be found on the Future councils - Devolution and local government reorganisation webpage.

Adult Social Care Precept

In previous years, Government legislation required the council tax for Hampshire County Council to be split up into two separate lines on council tax bills. Due to the legislation changing this year, these two lines have now been merged together, so there is now just one line on the bill for Hampshire County Council. Further information is available on the Hampshire County Council’s council tax webpage.

Information leaflets

To view a copy of the back of the council tax bill and leaflets sent with your bill, go to our council tax notes webpage.

Council tax information

Everything you need to know about council tax can be found on our website. Here you can:

  • check if you are eligible for reductions
  • find information on council tax bands and charges and what to do if you’re struggling to pay
  • complete an online form to tell us there’s a change in your circumstances
  • sign up for access to view your own council tax account online. Here you can
    • update your account if you have moved
    • change your payment method
    • request a change to your instalment date
    • view and print your bills and request a refund if you have overpaid, plus much more

Further information on the most common council tax queries can be viewed below:

Pay by Direct Debit

Setting up a Direct Debit is simple.

This can be done by logging into your self-serve account

Amending your instalments

Council tax can be paid on one of four payment dates. The options available are the 5th, 13th, 20th or 28th of the month.

As standard, council tax is billed over 10 instalments, you can however pay over 12 instalments if you prefer. If you request a change to 12 instalments mid-year, your bill will be recalculated over the remaining months of the tax year.

To request a change in your instalments, log into your self-service council tax account.

Empty properties

Levels of discounts and premiums for empty properties are changing from 1 April 2025.

For further information view our empty properties and second home webpage.

Council tax bands

The banding of all domestic properties is the responsibility of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), who are an agency of HM Revenue & Customs. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council are not involved in this process.

If you would like further information regarding your council tax band, contact the VOA on 03000 501501 or visit their website.

For further information on challenging your council tax band visit the GOV.UK website. If you challenge your band you must pay in accordance with your most recent council tax bill until advised otherwise.

Council tax support

The Revenues Team will not be able to help with queries regarding council tax support. If your query is regarding:

  • making a claim for council tax support
  • your entitlement to council tax support
  • the level of council tax support you are in receipt of
  • a change in your circumstances

Visit our benefits webpage for further information.

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