MoneyHelper says Council Tax is a priority debt you must pay, as the consequences of falling behind can be worse than with other debts. If you still do not pay, your council can get your employer to pay your unpaid Council Tax directly from your wages, apply to take money from certain benefits, or send bailiffs. This guide covers each step and the options to deal with it.
Key points
✓MoneyHelper says Council Tax is a priority debt, and that falling behind, even by one payment, can be serious.
✓GOV.UK says to contact your council as soon as possible if you are struggling to pay your Council Tax or are behind with your payments.
✓After a liability order your council can get your employer to pay your unpaid Council Tax directly from your wages, apply to take money from certain benefits, and send bailiffs.
✓Prison is possible only if a court finds that non-payment is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect, after bailiffs cannot find enough goods, and the term cannot exceed 3 months.
✓Bailiffs cannot enter your home by force, and you usually do not have to open your door to them.
Why council tax is a priority debt
MoneyHelper says Council Tax is a priority debt you must pay, as the consequences of falling behind can be worse than with other debts. It says falling behind, even by one payment, can be serious: you could face fines and legal action, bailiff visits, wage or benefits deductions, or prison, if you continue to ignore payments.
MoneyHelper says priority debts are those that carry the most serious consequences if you do not pay them
They can include court fines, Council Tax or Rates, TV Licence, Child Maintenance, gas and electricity bills, Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT, mortgage, rent and any loans secured against your home
Non-priority debts include overdrafts, personal loans, credit card, store card debts or payday loans, and the consequences of not paying them are less serious, though your creditor could eventually take you to court or instruct bailiffs
MoneyHelper says that if you are struggling to make your repayments on time you need to look at all your debts and split them into debt emergencies, priority debts and non-priority debts. Our priority debts guide explains how to sort your debts.
The council tax enforcement process, step by step
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Step 1: Reminder notice
If you miss a payment, your council will send you a reminder notice giving you 7 days to pay. If you do not pay within 7 days, you will have to pay the whole year's Council Tax instead. You will only get a maximum of 2 reminder notices in a financial year.
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Step 2: Final notice (the whole year becomes due)
Your council will send you a final notice saying you must pay the whole year's Council Tax if you miss a payment for the third time. If you do not pay the whole year's Council Tax within 7 days, the council may take legal action to get the Council Tax you owe.
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Step 3: Summons to magistrates court
Your council can ask a magistrate for a liability order if you owe unpaid Council Tax. This is a legal demand for payment. You are allowed to go to the court and give your reasons for not paying if you want to. The council's legal costs may be added to the money you owe. The amount varies by council: Ashford Borough Council charges £60 for the summons plus £65 if a liability order is granted, and Sutton Council charges £110 plus £20. In Wales, regulation 34 says the costs are not to exceed the prescribed amount of £70.
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Step 4: Liability order granted
If you still do not pay, your council can get your employer to pay your unpaid Council Tax directly from your wages, and can apply to take money from certain benefits. A council can also apply to the county court for a charge on your interest in your home, where at least £1000 of the amount in the liability order is still outstanding. You can ask your council if you can make smaller payments. Your council does not have to agree but will usually try to make an arrangement with you.
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Step 5: Enforcement agents (bailiffs) visit
Where a liability order has been made, payment may be enforced by using the Schedule 12 procedure, which is how enforcement agents are used. An enforcement agent must give you not less than 14 clear days' notice of enforcement before taking control of your goods, doubled from 7 clear days on 1 May 2026.
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Step 6: Committal to prison (very rare)
If the enforcement agent reports being unable to find any or sufficient goods, the council can apply to a magistrates' court for a warrant committing you to prison. The court must inquire into your means and whether the failure to pay is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect, and may issue a warrant only if it is of that opinion. The term cannot exceed 3 months.
Contact your council as soon as possible if you are struggling to pay your Council Tax or are behind with your payments. Our Council Tax Reduction guide explains how to apply.
Deductions from benefits
Your council can apply to take money from Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Pension Credit and Universal Credit.
Universal Credit can take money off your payment to pay debts for things including Council Tax. These are called third party deductions, and only 3 can be taken at any one time
Universal Credit will send you a message in your online journal when a third party deduction starts
Normally the most that can be taken from your payment to repay a debt is 15% of your Universal Credit standard allowance
If this means you do not have enough money to pay other bills, you can ask your council if you can make smaller payments. Your council does not have to agree but will usually try to make an arrangement with you
Attachment of earnings
If you are employed, a council with a liability order can make an attachment of earnings order and serve a copy on your employer, who must comply with it.
The sum deducted is a percentage of your net earnings, found from tables in Schedule 4 to the regulations according to the band your net earnings fall in
A council cannot make an order if it would mean more than two orders from that council are in force against you
Once a liability order has been made, you must give the council the information it asks for in writing, such as the name and address of your employer, within 14 days of the request
What enforcement agents (bailiffs) can and cannot take
GOV.UK says a bailiff (enforcement agent) may visit your home if you do not pay debts such as Council Tax bills. Our bailiffs guide covers enforcement agents in more detail.
What bailiffs can take:
✓Yes: Non-essential items, for example a TV or games console, if you let a bailiff into your home
✓Yes: Things from outside your home, for example your car, if you do not let a bailiff in or agree to pay them
What bailiffs cannot take:
✗No: Things you need, such as your clothes, cooker or fridge
✗No: Work tools and equipment which together are worth less than £1,350
✗No: Someone else's belongings, such as your partner's computer, though you will have to prove that someone else's goods do not belong to you
✗No: Items reasonably required for medical care, safety or security, or the care of a person under 18, a disabled person or an older person
✗No: Assistance dogs, sheep dogs, guard dogs and domestic pets
✗No: A vehicle displaying a valid disabled person's badge because it is used for the carriage of a disabled person
You usually do not have to open your door to a bailiff or let them in. Bailiffs cannot enter your home by force, for example by pushing past you, if only children under 16 or vulnerable people are present, between 9pm and 6am, or through anything except the door. You may be able to get extra time to make a payment or get debt advice if you are a vulnerable person, for example if you have mental health problems or are seriously ill.
Enforcement agent fees are fixed by law and went up on 1 May 2026: a compliance fee of £79 is added when the Notice of Enforcement is sent (it was £75), an enforcement fee of £247 on the first visit (it was £235), and £116 at the sale or disposal stage (it was £110). At the enforcement and sale stages the agent can also add 7.5% of the part of the debt above £1,900.
Your options when in council tax debt
Ways to deal with council tax debt:
Check if you are eligible for Council Tax Reduction if you are on a low income or get benefits
Contact your council as soon as possible. You can choose to spread your payments over 12 months instead of the usual 10, and your council may give you a one-off discount if you still cannot pay what you owe
Breathing Space gives temporary protection from your creditors for up to 60 days while you get debt advice, though you will still need to make your debt repayments. Enforcement action cannot be taken against you and your creditors cannot add interest or charges to your debt. If you are getting mental health crisis treatment, your protection lasts for the length of your treatment plus another 30 days
A Debt Relief Order is generally open to you if you owe less than £50,000, have less than £75 a month spare income and less than £2,000 worth of assets. You contact an approved debt adviser to apply and you do not need to pay for a DRO. You stop making payments towards your debts for 12 months and will not need to pay the debts after 12 months
For council tax, any amount due and unpaid under an instalment agreement up to the date the DRO is approved is a qualifying debt, and where the council has obtained a liability order before the DRO is made the whole debt in the liability order should be treated as a qualifying debt
GOV.UK says becoming bankrupt means you could be free from most of your debts, though there are some debts you might still have to pay, like child maintenance debts or student loans
You can get free help or advice from Citizens Advice, MoneyHelper, National Debtline and StepChange Debt Charity
Scotland, different rules apply
The enforcement process described on this page applies to England. In Scotland, councils use a summary warrant, which is mostly used by local councils to collect council tax arrears.
Enforcement in Scotland:
mygov.scot says a summary warrant is a type of court order mostly used by local councils to collect council tax arrears
Unlike other court orders for debt, summary warrants do not involve a court hearing
The summary warrant tells you the debt you owe plus a charge equal to 10% of the amount, and you may also be charged sheriff officer fees
The creditor must send you a Charge for Payment first, which gives you 14 days to pay the debt in full before they can take further action
You have the right to ask the court for a Time to Pay direction before the 14 days is up
If you do not pay within 14 days, further action could include arresting your bank account, arresting your wages and sending sheriff officers to take things you own
A summary warrant does not usually show on your credit file
Yes, but only in limited circumstances. If an enforcement agent reports being unable to find any or sufficient goods, the council can apply to a magistrates' court for a warrant committing you to prison. The court must inquire into your means and whether the failure to pay is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect, and may only issue a warrant if it is of that opinion. The term cannot exceed 3 months. GOV.UK says the court will consider whether you can afford to pay the bill and have a valid reason to not pay.
What can bailiffs (enforcement agents) take for council tax debt?
Bailiffs can take non-essential items, for example a TV or games console, if you let them into your home, and things from outside your home, such as your car, if you do not let them in or agree to pay. They cannot take things you need, such as your clothes, cooker or fridge, work tools and equipment worth less than £1,350 in total, or someone else's belongings, such as your partner's computer. An enforcement agent must give you not less than 14 clear days' notice of enforcement before taking control of your goods.
Can I pay council tax in instalments after a liability order?
If you miss payments and do not pay within the time on your reminder notices, the whole year's Council Tax becomes payable and, if you still do not pay within 7 days of the final notice, the council may take legal action. After that, you can ask your council if you can make smaller payments. Your council does not have to agree but will usually try to make an arrangement with you.
Can the council put a charge on my home for council tax debt?
Regulation 50 lets a council apply to the county court for an order imposing a charge, to secure the amount due, on any interest you hold beneficially in your home, where at least £1000 of the amount in the liability order remains outstanding when the application is made.
Does bankruptcy or a Debt Relief Order clear council tax debt?
For a Debt Relief Order, any amount due and unpaid under an instalment agreement up to the date the DRO is approved is a qualifying debt. If your council tax is up to date under the instalment agreement at the date of the DRO, no amount is scheduled, because any unpaid balance relates to future occupation. A bankrupt is discharged at the end of the period of one year beginning with the date on which the bankruptcy commences, and the discharge releases them from all the bankruptcy debts, subject to the exceptions in section 281 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
Know Your Rights UK. "Council Tax Debt: Enforcement, Bailiffs & Your Options." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/council/council-tax-debt