Struggling to pay

Having trouble paying your council tax?

If you are struggling to pay your council tax, please contact us by email or call 01908 253794 or 01908 254060 during office hours. There are a number of ways we may be able to help, including working out a payment plan.

You can complete an income and expenditure form online to help us work out the best course of action or you can complete the following income and expenditure form (PDF, 79KB) and include this with any offer of payment.

Information on the help and support that is available to Milton Keynes residents is available on our cost of living support page

You may be entitled to a council tax discount, reduction or exemption, which could reduce the amount you have to pay.

Non-payment of council tax

If you do not pay your council tax, we will take steps to recover the money.

What happens if you do not pay council tax

Further information on our recovery procedures is available in our income and collection procedure.

Priority debts

Council tax is classed as a priority debt. This means there are serious consequences if you do not pay.

Priority debts take precedence over non-priority debts such as credit card payments, hire purchase agreements, catalogue payments, unsecured bank and payday loans.

Non-priority debts can be put on hold until your priority debt (council tax arrears) is cleared.

You can use our letter template below to contact your creditors. You'll need to send them a copy of your income and expenditure, as well as your council tax bill.

You should also contact us to let us know so we can discuss future council tax payments

Download list

Paying non-priority creditor letter

Independent financial advice

Worried about debts or have missed payments? There is free, confidential, and independent debt advice available. The government sponsored MoneyHelper can direct you to a debt adviser straight away by telephone, or you can get support online.

If you are experiencing financial hardship and need advice on ways to increase your income, manage your debt and deal with creditors, we strongly recommend you seek advice. The organisations listed below provide confidential advice for free.

Milton Keynes Citizens Advice Bureau