How to tell the Council Tax team when someone dies

We understand the challenges faced when someone close passes away. It's important to tell us as soon as you can if an adult occupier of a property dies so we can update Council Tax records.

Tell us Once

Tell Us Once is a free service that allows you to report a death to many government departments and local council services in one go. You won't need to complete our form if you use this service.

See Tell Us Once on GOV.UK

Our online form

Use our online form if you're not able to use the Tell Us Once service or to notify us about the death of a landlord or non-resident owner.

Information you'll need to complete our form:

deceased person's name and date of death
address of their property
date their property was cleared or will be cleared
names and addresses of executors or beneficiaries
name and address of appointed solicitor

Report a death for Council Tax purposes

What happens next

Once we receive your form submission or receive an update though the Tell Us Once service we'll update Council Tax records depending on the circumstances.

Multiple adults in the property

If more than 2 adults lived in the same property as the deceased, remaining occupiers immediately become liable for Council Tax (unless they're disregarded).

Deceased lived in property they owned

If the deceased owned the property they lived in, what happens next depends on:

if the property is jointly owned - the surviving owner is liable for Council Tax
if the deceased was the sole owner - an exemption applies until probate has been granted then a further 6 months exemption may be available while the property is unoccupied and unsold

Deceased lived in property they rented

If the deceased was a tenant and the property is now empty it is exempt from Council Tax until the property is returned to the landlord.

To update our records we'll need:

date of death
date the keys were handed back
landlord's name and address

When ready you can let us know by sending the information we need by email to counciltax@oxford.gov.uk

If the deceased was a landlord

You can use our online form to tell us if the deceased was a landlord. What happens next depends on:

if there is a tenant in the property at the time of death - no change to Council Tax liability but we still need to know the landlord has passed away
if the property is unoccupied at time of death - Council Tax exemption can be applied