Council tax when you move house, what you actually need to do

Key takeaways

• You need to notify both your old council and your new council when you move. Most councils handle this through an online form.
• Council tax is charged by the day, not the month, so you only pay for the time you actually lived at each address.
• Notify councils close to your actual moving date. Doing it too early risks an estimated bill that has to be corrected later.
• Discounts like the Single Person Discount don't carry over. You have to reapply at your new address.
• Most councils refund overpayments automatically once your old account closes, but it's worth chasing if nothing arrives after a few weeks.

Council tax is easy to forget in the chaos of a move, but put it off too long and you risk paying for two properties at once, or getting a backdated bill you weren't expecting.

Tell your council, both of them

If you're moving between areas, you need to notify two councils: the one you're leaving and the one you're moving to. Most councils now handle this online. Search "[council name] council tax change of address" and you'll usually find a dedicated form within a couple of clicks. You'll need your moving date, your old and new addresses, a forwarding address for any final bill, and your council tax account number if you have it handy.

Do this close to your actual moving day rather than weeks in advance. Councils calculate charges from the date you actually move, not the date you tell them, so notifying too early can mean the figures need correcting later.

When to tell them

Aim to notify both councils within a few days of moving, ideally on or just before moving day. There's no single deadline that applies everywhere, so it's worth checking gov.uk's council tax guidance for your specific council's process. The longer you leave it, though, the more likely you are to get an estimated bill that's wrong, or a letter chasing you for tax on a property you've already left.

How the charge is split

You only pay for the days you actually lived at each address, not a full month at both. Councils work this out daily, so a move partway through the month tends to look something like this:

This recalculation happens automatically once both councils have your move date. That's the whole reason notifying them promptly matters, it's what triggers the adjustment.

If you've overpaid

If your direct debit keeps running after you've moved, or you paid council tax in advance at your old address, you're owed a refund. Most councils sort this out automatically once your account closes, but if nothing turns up within a few weeks, it's worth phoning the old council directly, or checking MoneyHelper's guidance on chasing an overpayment. Refunds aren't always proactive.

Discounts and reductions don't follow you

Any discount you were claiming at your old address, the Single Person Discount, a disability reduction, a student exemption, needs reapplying for at the new one. Councils treat it as a fresh claim even if nothing else about your circumstances has changed.

And if you just don't tell anyone

Nothing dramatic happens straight away, but it catches up with you eventually. You'll likely keep getting billed at your old address until the council works out you've left, often because the new occupant registers first, and you may need to backdate a claim for any discount you were owed. It's a small job now that saves a genuinely annoying paper trail a few months down the line.

Once the admin is sorted, most of what's left is choosing who actually does the move. If you haven't locked in your removal company or conveyancing solicitor yet, it's worth comparing a few quotes before moving day rather than scrambling after. Our moving house checklist covers everything else worth ticking off along the way.

In summary

Council tax during a move really comes down to two things: tell both councils promptly, and check whether you're due a refund or need to reapply for a discount. Get the timing right and it's a five minute job rather than a paperwork headache.

If you're still working out who's handling the move itself, Moving Compared lets you compare quotes from trusted conveyancers, surveyors and removal companies in one place, so the big decisions and the small admin can get sorted together.