One of the most important household bills, council tax must be paid by anyone who owns or rents a house. The local authorities spend the proceeds or the collected tax on public infrastructure and services such as schools, road maintenance, and emergency services.

Paying their council tax is the duty of every responsible citizen as the increase in council tax collected by the community means, more funds will be available to the local government to invest in community infrastructure and services. Perhaps, this is the reason council tax debts are rarely written off. If you are arranging an IVA, then your council tax will be included in your monthly IVA payment as soon your IVA is put in place.

Council Tax-What Makes It a Priority Debt?

Whether it's your current bill or any arrears owed by you, council tax will always be a high priority debt. Debts of high importance, can have serious consequences for the offender if they are left unpaid. Also, if council tax payments are missed, then local authorities can collect the debt by:

•  Issuing a charging order
•  Sending in Bailiffs
•  Taking the money owed directly from your wages or benefits by setting up an attachment of earnings
•  Creating a petition to make you bankrupt
•  Threatening you with imprisonment

Surely, you don't want to deal with any of these reprecusiions, right? If you don't, then there are a few things you need to ensure to include council tax in your individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). The claim for the council tax bill is typically submitted by the council a few months after your IVA is set up. After which, you must keep paying your council tax until the council confirms to you in writing that their claim has been dealt with and the payments you make for your IVA will be adjusted accordingly. From this point onwards, payments to the council will no longer be part of your IVA.

Getting Your Council Tax Written Off

Your individual circumstances and the consent of local authority to write off your council tax will determine whether you can get your council tax written off upon entering an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). Certain authorities will agree to this type of arrangement, and you should act as soon as you find them because they might soon start to consider enforcement options, which may increase the debt you owe.

We have already explained how your local authority may enforce action against you if you default on your council tax. On the other hand, you can get most of your council tax debt written off if your local authority agrees to IVA's. At present, there are under fifty local authorities in the UK that accept IVA arrangements. These local authorities offer a variety of options to pay your council tax including:

•  Via internet banking
•  Via telephone banking
•  At the local post office
•  At any local PayPoint areas
•  Via direct debit or standing order

If you're still confused about how you can make council payments to your local authority as part of the IVA arrangement, then you can contact us today for some valuable advice.