The first Council Tax rebate payments to eligible households will begin next week.

Households who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit will start to receive their automatic £150 payment from 9 May, with thousands of payments being made each day next week.

Non-Direct Debit payers will be able to apply to receive their £150 payment, or request for this to be credited to their 2022/23 Council Tax bill. These applications will be phased to manage demand and will be open from 9 May. 

The £150 non-repayable government rebate is to help with the rising energy bills. It is for eligible households in Council Tax bands A-D.

Councillor Darren Cowell, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “We know residents will be keen to receive their rebate and our staff have been working tirelessly on getting the payments up and running. There were some government delays in delivery of the new software.

“It has taken a few weeks for this new software to be installed and tested as the standard Council Tax systems aren’t typically designed to make payments on this scale.”

Councillor Steve Darling, Leader of Torbay Council, said: “We hope this rebate will go some way towards improving residents’ circumstances over the coming months.

“It would have been a lot easier to send a £150 cheque to those households that do not pay by Direct Debit, but the government does not allow councils to do this.”

Payment and application timescale

Direct Debit payers

Following a test payment run on 4 May, the roll out of payments will be as follows for Direct Debit payers:

• Band A – 9 May – 3,500 households
• Band B – 10 May – 7,000 households
• Band C – 11 May – 8,700 households
• Band D – 12 May – 6,100 households (including Band E disabled band reduction)

Non-Direct Debit payers

There will be a staggered application process based on the Council Tax band of the property.

Applications will be opened on the following dates for non-Direct Debit payers:

• Band A – 9 May – 7,000 households
• Band B – 6 June – 7,000 households
• Band C – 4 July – 4,600 households
• Band D – 25 July – 2,000 households (including Band E disabled band reduction)

More information about the application process is available on our dedicated web page.