The £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate scheme and the Council Tax Energy Rebate Discretionary scheme are both closed.
The Council Tax energy rebate schemes are both closed. If you have received your new annual bill and there is a energy rebate credit on your bill of £15, £150 or £165 you can claim this credit by using our Energy Rebate account credit application form.
Please complete the the form at the link below so that we can enact you preference.
Apply for an account credit to be refunded
The following Information is to provide background for the 2022 schemes.
To help households with rising energy costs, the Government announced a £150 council tax rebate (payment) for households in bands A to D.
Why is the government providing support?
From 1 April 2022, the energy price cap will rise and many households will struggle to pay higher energy bills and to heat their homes. You can find the government leaflet, which provides more information about the rebate, lower on this page.
Who will receive this £150 payment (rebate)?
Most households in council tax bands A to D will qualify for a payment (rebate) of £150, if they are occupied as a sole or main residence on 1 April 2022. If you are unsure of your council tax band, you can find it on your council tax bill or on the GOV.UK website.
If you pay by direct debit, you will receive this as a payment. Payments have been made to those who pay their council tax by direct debit. Residents who do not pay by direct debit and have not applied for a payment have been assessed to determine if they are entitled, and if entitled they will have the £150 credited to their council tax account.
If you pay less than £150 council tax, or you receive single person discount, or do not pay because you receive council tax support, you will still be entitled to the payment or credit.
Any properties which are unoccupied, classed as a second home, a HMO, or where the liable person is a local authority, corporate body, housing association, or government body, will not be eligible for the £150 rebate.
The council will not be contacting you by phone, email or text to ask for bank details. Please do not give your bank details to anyone contacting you about this rebate claiming to be from the council.
How and when will you receive your £150 rebate
If you pay your council tax by direct debit
The scheme making automatic payments to bank accounts for the Direct Debit payers has now finished. If you did not receive an automatic payment then we contacted you in July and August about how to claim your energy rebate using the application system.
If you do not pay your council tax by direct debit, or we were unable to confirm your direct debit details
We had an application process in place to receive your £150 energy rebate as a payment. This scheme is now closed for new applications.
If you do not pay by direct debit, or you did not claim the rebate payment with an application
If you have not applied for a payment then we used our information to determine if you are eligible for the scheme and if eligible we credited your council tax account with £150 in November 2022.
What will happen with the £150 credit on my council tax account?
If your account has been credited then we need to know what you would like to happen to the £150 account credit. There are three options.
- If you have any outstanding debts with Oxford City Council you can request for the £150 to be used to reduce/clear the debt.
- If you pay some council tax you can request for your bill to reflect the £150 credit and reduce your immediate future payments.
- You can request for a bank transfer of the £150 credit into your bank account. In order for the bank transfer to be administered you must apply for this online. In order to authorise this we may require proof of your bank account in the form of a recent bank statement.
Please complete the the form at the link below so that we can enact you preference.
Apply for an account credit to be refunded
If you you have not received a rebate payment or an account credit
If you have not received a rebate payment or an account credit then our records show that you are not eligible for the scheme.
Any properties which are unoccupied, classed as a second home, a HMO ( house in multiple occupation) or where the liable person is a local authority, corporate body, housing association, or government body, will not be eligible for the £150 rebate.
If you believe that you are entitled to a rebate payment then you can still apply for our additional discretionary energy rebate fund. Please read the details and apply for this, below.
If you receive a rebate that you are not entitled to then you will be required to pay it back.
View the Government leaflet on the rebate on the GOV.UK website.
Councils have been set a deadline to ensure all payments and credits are made by 30 November 2022.
Additional Discretionary Energy Rebate Fund
Our Council Tax Energy Rebate Discretionary Scheme is still available. Our scheme is designed to assist households in bands E-H which require assistance with their energy bills and fall into these categories.
- Households receiving Council Tax Reduction Scheme to reduce their council tax
- Households where all of the occupants have a severe mental impairment
- Households where all of the occupants are students
- Households that receive Carers Allowance
- Households which receive the Disabled Persons/Band Reduction for council tax
- Households which are experiencing difficulties in paying their energy bills. (proof of hardship will need to be provided)
We have also expanded this scheme to cover any households which may have missed out on the main rebate scheme.
Apply for your discretionary energy rebate
We will also give a top up payment to households in bands A-D that have already received a £150 payment and have the following circumstances.
- Households receiving Council Tax Reduction Scheme to reduce their council tax
- Households where all of the occupants have a severe mental impairment
- Households which receive the Disabled Persons Reduction for council tax
You will not need to claim the top up, it will be awarded to you after you have successfully received your £150 payment from the main scheme.
Councils have been set a deadline for the discretionary scheme of the 30 November 2022.
Council tax online services
You can view your council tax information, find your council tax reference number, or manage your payments online:
Sign in or register to your Council Tax account
Difficulty paying your Council Tax bill
The rebate does not mean you can stop paying Council Tax. You must continue to pay your bill by the amounts and on the dates shown on your bill. If you are struggling to pay, find out what help and advice is available to you.
