Tens of thousands of Reading residents are set for £150 council tax rebate this week.

An estimated 50,000 tax payers are set to see the £150 returned to their bank accounts after the Government announced the policy last year.

A majority of council tax payers, 73 per cent, pay the taxes through direct debit.

The council has said the will use residents’ existing direct debit details to pay the money direct into people’s bank accounts.

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The rebate is reserved for people in Band A-D properties, with residents to receive the rebate in a process that is expected to take two weeks to complete.

However, the process is more complicated for those who do not pay the council taxes through direct debit.

If you are one of these people, and are eligible for a rebate, you will need to apply for the rebate  via a dedicated link which will be added to the Council’s website at Council Tax rebate – Reading Borough Council.

The online application will be added to this site when this process begins, currently expected to be in two weeks.

It will be widely publicised at the time and over the following weeks and months.

The rebate was introduced by the Government to help mitigate the increasing cost of energy bills.

For those who need help with energy bills but are not eligible for the £150 rebate – such as households on income support in higher bands (E-H) – councils have also received discretionary funding from Government to help.

These residents will also be invited to apply for discretionary payments of £150.

This application process is due to begin following approval of the discretionary application criteria later this month.

As mentioned, the application will be undertaken using an online form.

Those do not have access to the online application form can contact the team by phone on 0118 937 3727 to make their application.

This process is currently expected to be available in two weeks.

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People who struggle to fill in the application form can receive help from the charitable organisations Reading CAB, Reading Age UK, Reading Welfare Rights or Reading Communicare. 

Claims for the rebate can be processed up until September 30, with rebates due to be distributed until October.

Therefore, those who do not pay council tax through direct debit, and those eligible for discretionary rebates have several months to make their applications.

The council estimates 20,000 households fall into this category.

The rebate does not need to be paid back.

More information on the Council Tax rebate scheme, as well as the discretionary scheme, can be found at  Council Tax rebate – Reading Borough Council.

This webpage will be updated regularly throughout the process.

If you are not sure which band you are in, you can find out on the council’s website or request a hard copy of your bill.