Council Tax Cost Cutting Special: 5 ways to try to cut your bill & possibly get £1,000s back
The Martin Lewis Podcast
BBC
4.4 • 929 Ratings
🗓️ 14 May 2026
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Martin Lewis dives into council tax. Are you overpaying? Martin breaks down practical, often overlooked ways you could cut your bill—potentially saving hundreds each year. From checking your property band to claiming discounts for single occupancy, students, or disabilities.
We also explore what to do if you think your property has been incorrectly assessed—plus the potential risks of challenging your banding. With real-life success stories and clear step-by-step guidance, you’ll find out how to navigate the system and make sure you're not paying more than you need to.
Plus, this week’s “Tell Us”— We’re asking: What’s the biggest money secret you’ve ever kept? When was it? Who did you keep it from—and why? We hear your candid, surprising, and sometimes emotional stories.
In our regular Mastermind feature, Adrian tackles a question from Martin on Lifetime ISAs (LISAs).
And Martin brings you the latest Premium Bonds update—including current prize rates, odds of winning, and whether they still stack up compared to savings accounts in today’s climate.
If you want to ask Martin a question, you now can! His Question Time podcast lets you ask Martin absolutely anything and everything (within reason!) – so if you’ve always wanted to know his favourite ice cream flavour, if he’s ever pondered the meaning of life, or have a very complicated question about your personal finances, email it to MartinLewisPodcast@bbc.co.uk.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.8 | They came up with the council tax. |
| 0:08.4 | And when two middle-aged men get together, there's only one thing they talk about first. |
| 0:12.8 | This is a substantial amount of money we're talking about for many people who are in the wrong band. |
| 0:18.4 | I'm just kidding some instructions from that. |
| 0:20.2 | Did that go on air? |
| 0:21.9 | Premium bonds are hugely popular, in my view, hugely overrated. |
| 0:26.5 | Hello, I'm Martin Lewis, |
| 0:27.9 | and this is the cunningly named the Martin Lewis podcast. |
| 0:31.3 | I do wonder what that's going to be about. |
| 0:33.3 | And this is our big topic episode, |
| 0:35.3 | where each week we leave on one main subject to help you save. |
| 0:39.2 | Usually most of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 live show with Adrian Childs. |
| 0:43.0 | But don't worry, there's also bonus money saving tips and tricks and extra just for you, lucky, lucky podcast listeners. |
| 0:53.3 | I got meals. I got meals. |
| 0:55.3 | I got to pay. Well, the big topic of the day is council tax costs 5.D. What are you got for us today, Martin? |
| 1:11.6 | Well, the big topic of the day is council tax costs, five different ways you can slash your |
| 1:16.4 | council tax. Some people are due serious money back thousands of pounds in refunds from overpaid |
| 1:24.4 | council tax over the years. There are millions of people missing out on |
| 1:27.8 | discounts and council tax support. It's a huge part of people's expenditure and I'm going to run |
| 1:33.2 | you through all the different ways that you can get money back and answer people's questions. |
| 1:37.2 | We've also got to tell us on what's the biggest money secret you've ever kept. When was it? |
... |
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