How to pay your Council Tax
Council Tax bills are issued every March, or when you become liable for a property.
There are many ways to pay your bill. You should contact us as soon as possible if you have trouble making payments.
You can claim a refund if you think we owe you money.
Check your balance
You can check your balance online if you have an online Council Tax account.
Payment instalments
Normally payments are made over 10 months between April and January. You can apply to spread the balance over 12 monthly instalments.
Find our more about Council Tax instalments.
Direct Debit
This is the easiest way to pay. You can choose to pay on the 4th, 11th, 15th, 18th or 25th of each month.
You can set up a Direct Debit in a number of ways. You will need your:
- Bank details
- Council Tax account reference - view an example of a bill to see where your account reference is
Set up a Direct Debit online
You must be registered for Council Tax to set up a Direct Debit. If you are not already registered, you need to set up your Council Tax account, and you can choose to pay by Direct Debit.
If you already have a Council Tax account, but wish to pay by Direct Debit, submit a form to set up a Council Tax Direct Debit.
Once set up, you will get a confirmation email.
Set up a Direct Debit by telephone
Call 020 8871 7799.
Once set up, you will get a confirmation letter in a few days and a bill showing your instalments.
Updating your Direct Debit
If you want to change the bank account your Council Tax is paid from, you will need to set up a new Direct Debit.
Benefits of Direct Debit
Paying by Direct Debit has many advantages:
- You can choose from five different payment dates to suit your convenience
- Payments are automatic - helping to keep your payments up to date and avoid reminders, final notices or summons
- The service is completely online eliminating post office queues and relying on cheques to be delivered
- Refunds are guaranteed in the event of error by the Council and the banking system
- The Direct Debit instruction will continue year on year until you decide to cancel the arrangement. There will be no need to complete forms each year or if your annual amount payable changes
- It costs us less to process, helping to keep your Council Tax low
Online payment
You can make a Council Tax payment online via a secure site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You will need:
- Your Council Tax account reference - see where this is on a Council Tax bill
- The amount to pay
- Your credit or debit card
Telephone payment
You can call us to:
- Make a payment: 0800 021 7763 - freephone
- Set up a Direct Debit: 020 8871 7799
These automated lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You will need your:
- Council Tax account reference - see where this is on a Council Tax bill
- Credit or debit card
The call should last about two minutes. You will need to use a touch tone telephone.
Bank transfer
You can pay your Council Tax with telephone or online banking.
You will need your Council Tax account reference - see where this is on a Council Tax bill
You will also need these payment details:
- Bank account name: Wandsworth Council
- Sort Code: 60-22-28
- Account Number: 69612544
Bank transfers from abroad
To make a payment from abroad, you will need:
- IBAN: GB28 NWBK 6022 2869 6125 44
- Swift: NWBKGB 2L
You will also need your Council Tax account reference.
Paying at a Post Office
You can pay free of charge by cash, cheque or debit card at any Post Office.
You must take your bill with you as the Post Office will need to read the barcode on it.
If you pay by cheque, make it payable to Post Office Ltd.
You can find your nearest Post Office.
Paying at a PayPoint
You can pay free of charge by cash at any PayPoint outlet in the country.
You must take your bill with you as PayPoint will need to read the barcode on it.
Paying by post
Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to Wandsworth Council.
On the back of your cheque or postal order, include your:
- Name
- Address
- Council Tax account reference
Send it to:
The Director of Finance
PO Box 18
London
SW18 2PB
You can ask for a receipt when paying by cheque.