THOUSANDS of residents are to receive a council tax rebate this year.
The cash comes as millions are set to be hit with rising council tax bills in April.
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Households in Merton will be getting a 1% council tax rebate in the coming months.
This will include everyone living in council tax bands A-D in the area.
It comes alongside a £60 rebate for 10,000 residents agreed in November – which makes up £654,000 of the council’s £2million cost of living fund.
Merton Council is looking to soften the impact the cost of living is having on residents.
The news arrives as authorities are told they can hike bills by up to 5% this year.
On Merton’s website, it states funding given to it by the council would allow bills to increase by 3% in April.
Council leader Councillor Ross Garrod said: “Merton was one of the first councils to declare a cost of cost of living emergency, and we will continue to do everything we can to support residents who are counting the cost of rising prices.
“Our proposed one off 1% discount on council tax bills will benefit the majority of residents in the borough and those facing the toughest impacts.
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“This is in addition to our £60 rebate for residents who receive tax support, and many more who have been helped through our £2million Cost of Living Fund.”
The Sun has asked Merton Council how much the rebate could be worth, and we’ll update when we know more.
Millions of households look set to be hit with average council tax bills of over £2,000 from April.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the news in his Autumn Budget last November.
Previously local authorities were only allowed to raise council tax by 2.99%.
The announcement from the government could see 255 districts charging more than £2,000 a year on average to families in Band D homes, according to new analysis by The Telegraph and TaxPayers’ Alliance.
There are currently just over four million Band D council tax properties in England and Wales.
At the moment, Merton is the only council The Sun has spotted offering a rebate to help with this, but you should check your local council website in case.
You can use the government’s council locator tool if you’re not sure what yours is – you just need to put in your postcode.
How to get help with Council Tax
There are plenty of ways you can get help with your council tax bills regardless of any help you local authority is providing.
For example, if you live on your own, you can get 25% off your council tax bill.
This also applies if there is one adult and one student living together in a property, or if there is one adult and one person classed as severely mentally impaired in the home.
If you live with someone who doesn’t have to pay council tax, such as a carer or someone who is severely mentally impaired, you could get a larger reduction too, of up to 50%.
And, if you live in an all-student household, you could get a 100% discount.
Also, pensioners may be eligible for a council tax reduction.
If you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you could get a 100% discount.
If not, you could still get help if you have a low income and less than £16,000 in savings.
And a pensioner who lives alone will be entitled to a 25% discount too.
We also wrote a list of reductions you could get on your council tax bill, which you can read here.
And remember a full list of circumstances that exempt you from paying council tax can be found on Citizens Advice.
