Holiday service information
The council tax, benefits and business rates telephone line will be closed from 25th December and reopen on 2nd January. During this time, you can contact us through our webforms and MyHarrow Account.
We can issue a refund when there is a valid credit balance on your account.
Do I need to request a refund?
Credit balances on closed accounts
We have internal procedures to check credit accounts, and if known, where linked customers have moved within the borough. This enables us to transfer any overpayment to the new account.
However, if your bill is in credit and you have not received a refund, please follow the instructions below.
Credit balances on open accounts
If you do not request a refund, we will normally use the credit to reduce the balance on your account. This may not happen until a new bill is issued due to a change in your circumstances or at annual billing when we issue the new charges.
If you want to claim the refund earlier, please follow the instructions below.
Transferring money from one council tax account to another
If you would like to transfer the money between your own council tax accounts, you will need to complete the refund form.
If it is to another person's council tax account then you will need to explain why. This may be queried and delay the request.
Request a refund online
If you are requesting a Council Tax refund for an account which is in more than one name, you will need to upload a letter signed by all parties.
If the bill payer has died, executors will also be able to complete this form.
What you will need to request a refund online:
- your bank details
- your Council Tax reference number.
If you are requesting an executor's refund you will need to upload:
- a copy of the will or
- a grant of probate.
Paper refund forms
- Download the Refund form (If the bill payer has died, please use the Executors form)
- Complete the form
- Save the completed form to your device and send it to us using the Evidence upload form.
Council tax refund FAQs
I have been given a discount can I get the money back?
If you had a balance on your account and we reduced what you owe, normally you'd get a new bill with lower instalments. If you want the overpayment refunded, please complete a refund form. You'll need to include a covering letter explaining that you don’t want it to be offset.
How will I get refund if I’m not able to get all the signatures?
You will need to provide evidence that you made the payments. Without all the signatures we will not be able to issue the refund, where you were jointly and severally responsible for the Council Tax.
Does the refund need to be issued to my own bank account?
You'll need to provide a reason why you are asking for the payment to be made to someone else. And you'll need to sign the declaration. This may be queried because normally payment is made back to the person who made payment.
How do I transfer money from one council tax account to another?
To transfer the money between your own council tax accounts, you'll need to complete the refund form. If it's to another persons account then you will need to explain why. This may be queried and delay the request.
What happens if I don’t want to claim refund until a later date?
If it's an open account then any credit is normally used to reduce any current instalments. Or, if it's the end of the year, the credit is used to reduce payments for the following year. The amount of credit used will be shown on the annual bill.