Money MOT

Council tax check · England

Is your council tax band too high?

Every band in England still rests on what a home was worth in April 1991. Check yours against similar homes on your street and 30 years of real sale prices, and see what a wrong band costs you each year.

Free check No sign-up Tells you when NOT to challenge

Start with your postcode

We look up every home in your postcode on the official band list.

How the check works

Your street is the evidence.

The Valuation Office reviews a band by comparing it with similar homes nearby. So that's exactly what we do, with every sale since 1995 to back it up.

1

Every home, every band

We pull your postcode from the official council tax list, so you see the band of each home around you.

2

Sales turned back to 1991

Land Registry sale prices are wound back to April 1991 values with the local house price index, then checked against your neighbours' real bands.

3

A straight answer

A good case, worth a look, looks right, or don't challenge. Plus what the difference costs you at your council's 2026-27 rates.

Before you challenge

The honest part.

Challenging a band is free and you can do it yourself. It's worth knowing three things first.

It's free on GOV.UK

You never need to pay anyone to challenge. Our pack saves you the research and tells you what to write.

A band can go up

The Valuation Office can move a band up as well as down. If yours looks low, we tell you not to challenge.

It takes time

A band review can take up to 12 months, and you keep paying your current bill while it runs. If the band changes, your council refunds the difference.

Pricing

Free to check. Unlock the pack only if you have a case.

The check

Free

For every home in England.

  • Your band against similar homes nearby
  • Your home's estimated 1991 value
  • What a lower band would save a year
  • A warning if your band could go up

Challenge pack

£9.99

One payment, only offered when the check finds a case. Also included in Money MOT Plus.

  • Up to 5 similar homes in a lower band: the evidence the Valuation Office asks for
  • Their sale prices turned into 1991 values
  • What to write, ready to paste into the GOV.UK form
  • Which route is yours: a formal proposal or a band review

Questions

Good to know.

Is Money MOT official?

No. Money MOT is independent and not part of GOV.UK, HMRC or the Valuation Office Agency. We use public government data and point you to the free official service to make your challenge.

How accurate is the check?

Tested on 60 random English postcodes, our 1991 value lands in a home's real band about 3 times in 4, and within one band 98% of the time. That's why the verdict leans on your neighbours' actual bands, and why we only call a case "good" when the two agree. Every result shows how much evidence it rests on.

Can my band go up if I challenge?

Yes. The Valuation Office can raise a band it finds too low. If similar homes nearby pay more than you, or your home's value points higher, the check tells you not to challenge.

Will I get money back?

If your band is lowered, your council revises your bill and refunds what you overpaid. The Valuation Office decides the date the change applies from, so any backdated figure we show is an estimate, not a promise.

Where does the data come from?

Bands from the Valuation Office Agency's public list, sale prices from HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, the UK House Price Index, and 2026-27 council tax levels from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. All are published under the Open Government Licence.

What about Wales and Scotland?

Not yet. Wales bands use 2003 values and Scotland has its own assessors. Both are on the list.