What to do with Council Tax when someone dies
Tell us that someone has passed away
Use the Tell Us Once service
Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government services in one go, including Council Tax.
Once you register the death, the registrars will provide you with a reference number and instructions on how to use the service.
If you have used the Tell Us Once service, we will be informed without you having contacted us directly.
Tell us by email
If you have chosen not to use the Tell Us Once service, you can inform us of a death by email at revenues@torfaen.gov.uk.
You need to let us know:
- the name of the deceased person and the date they died
- the address where they lived
- whether a single occupant discount is now required
- whether they owned the property they lived in
If the deceased was a Council Tax payer we will also need the name and address of:
- any executors to the will of the deceased person
- an appointed solicitor if you want us to deal directly with a solicitor
Back to top
If you are now a sole occupier
Where a property was previously occupied by 2 adults, the Council Tax might have been in both names or under the name of one of the occupants.
If you have let us know that someone has passed away and this leaves you as a sole occupier, we will transfer the account to your name and give you a 25% discount.
Back to top
If there are now 2 or more adults living in the property
Where someone has passed away and this leaves more than 2 adults at a property, we will transfer the Council Tax into the name of the remaining owner, occupiers or joint tenants.
You will need to let us know that someone has passed away and give us your details so we can make those changes.
Back to top
If you have been claiming Council Tax Reduction
If you have been claiming Council Tax Reduction as a couple, you may have to make a claim in your own right.
Make a new application for Council Tax Reduction
Back to top
If the property is left empty after someone passed away
An empty property is exempt where the liability for Council Tax would fall to the estate of a deceased person. Where the person who passed away owned the property and they lived there on their own, the property is exempt from Council Tax payments for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. This means that you do not need to pay Council Tax for that period.
This exemption does not apply if:
- there is a joint owner or tenant of the property
- the property is signed over directly to beneficiaries
- they did not own the property they lived in
The exemption will end if the property:
- becomes occupied (unless occupation is temporary for less than 6 weeks)
- is sold
- is rented out (re-let)
- has not been sold or re-let 6 months after the grant of probate/letters of administration
If you are a landlord and your property is left empty after a tenant passed away, the property is exempt from the date of death until the date that the tenancy ends.
You will need to let us know if the property is sold, rented out or becomes occupied.
Apply for an exemption
To apply for the exemption you will need to email the below information to revenues@torfaen.gov.uk:
- the full name of the deceased
- date of death
- the details of any Solicitors/Executor or person dealing with the estate
We also need to confirm if the property is furnished or unfurnished along with the date any furniture was removed so a visit to the property may need to be arranged.
Back to top
If the property is sold, rented out or becomes occupied
If the sole occupant has passed away, you will need to let us know when the property is:
You will need to contact us by email at revenues@torfaen.gov.uk letting us know the:
- date of completion
- tenancy start date
- date of transfer to a beneficiary or date of occupation
- name of the new owners or occupiers
Back to top
Council Tax liability for executors
What an executor does
Executors are the people appointed in the will to deal with the estate of a person who has died. When probate is granted a document is issued to the executor providing them with the authority to deal with the estate.
After probate is granted
You must provide us with a copy of probate or Letters of Administration once granted.
If ownership of the property is transferred
If, after probate is granted, ownership of a property is transferred to a beneficiary of the will, any liability for Council Tax passes to the beneficiary. The beneficiary should give us their details by letting us know that the property has been transferred to them.
If the property remains under the control of the estate
If after probate has been granted the property remains under the control of the estate for more than 6 months, a full Council Tax charge is due. This may be where the property has not sold, been rented out or transferred to a beneficiary of the will.
After 6 months, the executor is responsible for making payment of the Council Tax from the deceased's estate (the executor is not personally liable for Council Tax charges). If the executor cannot make payment for any reason they should contact us as soon as possible.
Back to top
Refunds on a deceased person's account
If you have been sent a bill showing that there is a credit on the deceased person's account, then the executors can request this back and it should be included in the estate.
If solicitors are acting as executors
Ask the solicitors to email revenues@torfaen.gov.uk with confirmation of the executors account that they have set up to receive any monies owed to the estate.
If there are no solicitors
If there are no solicitors acting for the estate, then the executor can request a refund be made to them.
You will need to provide a copy of the first page of the Will to confirm that you are the sole executor.
If there are other executors, you will need to provide signed confirmation from each to confirm that they agree on who the credit should be paid to.
Council tax refund request
Last Modified: 27/03/2024
Back to top