Your Council Tax Guide

Your Rotherham Council Services for 2025/26

For around £3.42* a day, you get:

• 2,500 adults supported to live safely in their homes.
• Over 2,800 families helped by our Family Help services.
• 37,000 streetlights kept in good repair.
• 14 urban parks, 3 country parks, and 37 play areas maintained.
• 42.68km of roads resurfaced.
• 15 libraries.
• 4 leisure centres
• 4 Household Waste Recycling Centres
• 155,272 bins collected every week.
• 2,500 public litter bins maintained across the Borough.

And much more…

Rotherham Council delivers a wide range of services across the Borough. The following webpages explains how we spend the money raised—and other important information you need to know.

About your bill

The amount you pay in Council Tax is based on the band in which your property is classified.

Paying your bill

You can pay your Council Tax a number of ways, including:

• One lump sum (in April)
• In two payments (the first in April and the second in September)
• Or, in weekly/fortnightly/monthly instalments. If you are paying monthly, you have the choice of spreading your payments over 10 or 12 months for instalment plans that start in April. You can pay on the 6th, 13th, 20th or 27th of the month. However, if you wish to pay by 12 monthly instalments you must request this no later than the 9th April

If you have any outstanding balance from the previous year, the law does not allow us to include this within the instalments due for your new bill from April. Any outstanding balance should be paid straight away, or a payment arrangement made by contacting us.

You still need to pay your Council Tax bill even if there are council-provided services that you don’t use. If you do not pay your bill, the Council can take action to recover the money that is owed.

If you are not able to make a payment, then please contact the Council as soon as possible.

Moving house and unoccupied properties

If you move house at any point during the year, then you should inform the Council as soon as possible. You may be able to get a refund on the council tax you have already paid or have it transferred to the bill for your new property if you are moving within the borough.

Council tax is still payable on an empty property. Full council tax is due on unoccupied properties, unless an exemption is applicable, see exempt dwelling section below. In addition, if a property has been unoccupied and unfurnished for one year, an additional 100 per cent premium is payable. If a property has been unoccupied and unfurnished for five years, an additional 200 per cent premium is payable. If a property has been unoccupied and unfurnished for ten years or more, an additional 300 per cent premium is payable.

From 1 April 2025 there are a number of circumstances where a premium cannot be charged:

• Dwellings which are or would be someone’s sole or main residence if they were not residing in job-related armed forces accommodation.
• Annexes forming part of, or being treated as part of, the main dwelling.
• Dwellings being actively marketed for sale (12 months limit).
• Dwellings being actively marketed for let (12 months limit).
• Unoccupied dwellings which fell within exempt Class F and where probate has recently been granted (12 months from grant of probate/letters of administration).
• Empty dwellings requiring or undergoing major repairs or structural alterations (12 months limit).

If you have been charged a premium and you believe any of these exceptions apply, please contact the council tax team.

In addition to premiums on properties which are unoccupied and substantially unfurnished, from 1 April 2025, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 gave local authorities the power to charge a premium on properties which are unoccupied and substantially furnished. For 2025/26 Rotherham have decided not to implement this premium, however, a premium for these properties will be implemented from 2026/27.

In accordance with S11B(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, Rotherham Council will not apply the long-term empty premium to any class of dwelling prescribed by the Secretary of State as not subject to it. We are required by law to send a bill, even if the amount owed is zero.

Contacting the Council

If you have questions about your bill or need to update your details, visit or Council tax pages.

You can access the Council website for free at your local library or neighbourhood hub.