Is my council tax rebate late? When councils will pay £150, and how to get the Energy Bills Rebate

The Government announced a package of support earlier this year, known as the Energy Bills Rebate, to help households with rising energy costs.

About 20 million homes are to benefit from a £150 one-off payment, distributed to households from the start of April, according to which council tax band they belong to.

The £9.1 billion package is intended to ease financial strain ahead of the energy price cap rise, which came into effect earlier this month.

Here’s what you need to know.

When will councils pay the rebate?

According to the Government website, “payments will be made from April 2022 and will not need to be paid back”.

How to get the rebate

The energy rebate is being paid to households in council tax bands A to D in England, affecting around 20 million homes, including 95 per cent of rented properties.

The Scottish Government is distributing the payment using the same criteria. The Welsh Government said it would also be offering a comparable scheme.

You can check if you are eligible for the rebate by finding out which council tax band your property falls into, using the Government website here.

There is no need to apply for the rebate. If you already pay your council tax to your local authority by direct debit then the one-off payment of £150 will automatically be credited to your account.

If you do not pay council tax by direct debit, your local authority will get in touch with you to arrange the payment.

In the meantime, the Government says you do not need to do anything.

Households in council tax bands E to H in England and Scotland do not qualify for the rebate unless they are considered vulnerable or on a low income.

As a rough timescale, claims for the rebate can be processed up until 30 September 2022, the Government says.

However, according to MoneySavingExpert, people should prepare themselves for the rebate not coming in April.

There are reports of one council telling residents a “software issue” was holding the payments up and they would not receive their payment until “at least June”.

Another council said told residents they would not receive their payment until September.

How do I check what council tax band I am in?

If you live in England or Wales you can find out your council tax band by entering your postcode into the Government website here. You can challenge your band using the same service.

Those who live in Scotland will need to use the Scottish Assessors website.