Council Tax - the tax that is assessed on the property you live on and used to fund local services in the United Kingdom - is usually paid in installments that span over a ten month period each year. Sometimes people cannot afford to pay this tax, and when this happens you are facing a very severe problem if you simply ignore it. It is important that you do not ignore this payment and contact your local council immediately and let them know that you are having financial difficulties. You should make a budget first and prioritise your debt to determine how much you can pay the council, and when you contact them offer to pay this amount. You may have to work with the council to get a payment amount that is agreeable to both parties and still manageable for you, and if a settlement cannot be reached you should inquire about Council Tax Benefit help.

If you are not able to reach an agreement with the council or if you make a payment arrangement and do not pay it, the council has the right to ask the Magistrate's Court to bring a suit against you and demand that you pay the full amount that you owe in addition to any extra costs that may have accrued on the account. This is called a liability order and you have the right to a hearing to defend why you have not been paying the debt. If you do not wish to attend the court hearing you should at least go back to your local council and speak with them again about payment arrangements you can afford.

It is not a good idea to ignore a liability order, because the council can enforce action against you in order to recover the debt that you owe them. This action could come in a variety of different ways. The council could garnish your wages until the debt is paid for. They could request that a monthly amount be taken from any benefits you are receiving, such as Jobseekers' Allowance , Income Support, or Pension Credit. They could order a bailiff to your home to seize your property to sell although you do not have to let the bailiff into your home, and if you receive notification of a bailiff's visit you should try to come to an agreement with the council to save money and property. The council could request a hearing that could cause you to go to prison for up to three months because all other attempts at resolving the debt have failed.
It is important that you keep in constant contact with your local council and let them know what is going on with your finances. You can avoid jail time or even having your wages garnished by simply talking to them and working out a payment arrangement that allows you pay what you can on your council tax without strapping your family in the process. This is one of the few debts in the United Kingdom that comes with such a steep penalty for non-payment.