Councils hold £1.5m in unclaimed overpaid tax

Councils in Surrey are holding nearly £1.5m in overpaid tax that can be claimed back

Councils in Surrey are holding nearly £1.5m in overpaid tax that can be claimed back.

Residents who move to a different borough after paying tax are supposed to be sent a closing bill, where if an account is in credit, overpayments are refunded.

When not possible, for example if a forwarding address is not known, the funds can sit in a pot until a claim is made or the residents return to the borough.

The councils urged departing residents to provide a forwarding address so they can send closing bills or retrospective bill changes.

Across Surrey, that figure is a combined £1,493,722 for eight of the 11 councils.

The figures for the other three - Elmbridge, Tandridge and Epsom and Ewell – remain unclear.

The most common reasons for overpayments are if a resident moves out of their property and has already paid, changes to a property’s tax band, and when residents forget to cancel standing orders when they move.

Guildford and Spelthorne Borough Councils have the biggest stockpiles, accounting for more than £600,000.

Meanwhile, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Waverley and Woking Borough Councils are all holding more than £100,000 each.

Tax not claimed back can be written off by a council to balance the cost of bad debts. But Guildford Borough Council said it reinstated the money if a resident comes forward to claim the credit.

The council said it had refunded 12,793 people on both closed and open accounts with a total value of £4.4 million, since April 2021.

“If a refund is not claimed, the money will remain on the account until the resident claims it or becomes liable for council tax in our borough again,” a spokesman said.

Spelthorne Borough Council said if it holds bank details, refunds are transferred directly back to the bank account that they were paid from.

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