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Your Council Tax bill

Here is some additional information to help you understand your Council Tax bill, including an example of a Council Tax bill.

Example of a Council Tax bill 2025 to 2026

  1. this is the financial year that relates to your bill
  2. name and address of person responsible for paying the bill
  3. property address which the charge relates to. If post is re-directed to a different address it will show here
  4. account number - please quote this in any communications to us
  5. how the Council Tax charge is calculated. This year there will be an increase of 4.95 per cent in the core element of Council Tax, your bill may show 5 per cent as we must show the figure to one decimal point. This includes a charge for adult social care precept of 2 per cent to help meet the rising costs of adult social care services for vulnerable adults. View the Council Tax charges in your area. (PDF, 172 KB)
  6. breakdown of the bill showing the full charge for the property and period it covers, plus any discounts or exemptions and adjustments made to your bill. Anything followed by the letters 'CR' means that the value will be deducted from the bill. Anything without CR means adjustments will be added to your bill. Read more about exemptions and discounts.
  7. the amount you have to pay
  8. this is the amount owed from the previous year or years, however this balance is calculated with payments made until 21 February 2025. If you have paid an amount since then or you have an arrangement to pay a further payment, this will not be shown on this bill. If you pay by Direct Debit, this may be your final instalment
  9. details of your payment instructions. If you are paying by Direct Debit, it will say "the instalments shown below will be collected by Direct Debit". Direct Debit continues from year to year unless it has been cancelled. If you have chosen to pay by standing order, you will need to contact your bank to renew the amount each time you receive a new or amended bill
  10. the date the bill was issued, the reason why the bill has been issued and the reference number for the property

At the bottom of your bill, you will see a box detailing your payment instructions. If you are paying by Direct Debit, it will say "the instalments shown below will be collected by Direct Debit". Direct Debit continues from year to year unless it has been cancelled.

If you have chosen to pay by standing order, you will need to contact your bank to renew the amount each time you received a new or amended bill.

The balance of your new bill is usually calculated with payments made until the end of February. If you have paid an amount since then or you have an arrangement to pay a further payment, this will not be shown on your bill.

What is a precept?

Some of your Council Tax bill goes towards the funding of both the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland and the Cleveland Fire Authority These are called precepts. They are included as part of your bill and the Council has no influence over the charges that the police and fire authorities set.

Depending on where you live, your bill can also include parish council precepts too. These are often called town councils. These are independent from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and it is the responsibility of that parish council to calculate their own precepts in line with legalisation. They appear on your bill as the Council collects these on behalf of the town or parish councils, so you only get one bill.

Billingham Town Council Precept 2025 to 2026

Item2024 to 20252025 to 2026
Management and Support Costs£188,200£210,666
Running costs£31,100£31,950
Recreation and Leisure (events)£26,000£31,800
Environmental Projects£0.00£0.00
Community Projects (inc JWP)£49,200£44,500
Grants£46,000£46,000
Election Costs£0.00£3,000
Other£17,210£16,105
Gross precept (income)£357,710£384,509
LCTS grant (income)£23,509£23,509
Net precept (income)£334,201£360,512

 

Ingleby Barwick Town Council Precept 2025 to 2026

The Town Council set its budget in January 2025 and the precept requirement for 2025 to 2026 is £180,300.

Outgoing

Item2025 to 2026
Management and support costs£94,790
Operation and running costs£6,750
Community safety/CCTV£60,000
The Rings Community Hub and Youth Facility£90,550
Christmas tree and lights£10,000
Events and competitions£15,000
Grants£7,000
Total£284,090

Incoming

Item2025 to 2026
Balance brought forward from 2024 to 2025£10,100
Local Council Tax Support Grant£3,445
Seamer Wind Farms Receipts£2,800
VAT Reclaim£12,000
Hub Hire£42,000
Reserves£33,445
Precept£180,300
Total£284,090

 

Thornaby Town Council Precept 2025 to 2026

Item2024 to 20252025 to 2026
Administrative costs£121,718£63,750
Events£25,100£47,100
Projects£28,000£28,000
Town Hall Renovation£10,000£48,140
Publications£18,000£24,000
Total expenditure£202,818£210,990
Grants (income)£36,050£36,050
Precept (Income)£166,768£174,940
Total income£202,818£210,990

 

Receive your bill in an alternative format

You can receive your Council Tax bill in large print or braille, or register for our Talking Bill service. Contact our customer services team for more details on 01642 397108.

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