This is how much more council tax Harrogate households will pay from April

North Yorkshire County Council yesterday became the last of the main authorities serving the borough to approve a council tax increase - with a 3.49% hike on its majority proportion of bills.

Council leader Carl Les said asking residents to pay more during the pandemic was the “most difficult decision” the authority has ever made and it follows further increases from Harrogate Borough Council and police and fire services.

The charge for Harrogate Borough Council will go up by £5 from the beginning of April, along with a 1.99% increase for both police and fire. Local town and parish councils will also levy a parish precept on bills.

But how much will each household pay? And what if I can't afford it?

Your council tax band determines how much you pay and is calculated using the value of your property at a specific point in time.

Bands range from A to H and are based on what the Valuation Office Agency believes your home might have sold for in April 1991.

For tax payers in Harrogate, the increases from the borough council, county council, police and fire services means households will pay around:

Band A - £1,339.76

Band B - £1,562.23

Band C - £1,784.70

Band D - £2,007.17

Band E - £2,452.09

Band F - £2,897.03

Band G - £3,341.94

Band H - £4,009.34

These figures do not include any local parish precept charge. The exact charge will vary depending on which parish area your property is in.

But clearly there are still significant differences in how much residents will pay and some feeling the financial strain of the pandemic may be wondering - how am I going to afford this?

Harrogate Borough Council is responsible for collecting all council tax and has help on offer.

The authority has estimated that more residents will struggle to pay their bills because of the coronavirus and it has received some government cash to compensate for this.

Residents can apply to the council to have their tax reduced or ask for a review of their monthly payments. This could include spreading payments across 12 months instead of 10 or arranging a payment holiday.

Residents can also challenge which band they believe their property should be in.

For more information go to www.harrogate.gov.uk/council-tax

How much is each authority charging?

The hike in council tax comes as local authorities face a strain on resources and uncertainty over future funding from the government.

They say the only way to keep services running is to ask residents to pay more. North Yorkshire County Council is the hardest-hit authority and is forecasting a £59m cash shortfall over the next three years.

It makes up the majority proportion of bills - around 70% - and on Wednesday approved a 3.49% increase which means its share of council tax for the average Band D property will go up to £1,411.05.

Harrogate Borough Council last week voted to approve its £5 rise which will see its collections for the same average Band D property go up to £250.92.

The 1.99% rises for police and fire services were also agreed by the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel last week and will see the charge for police increase to £271.06 and fire £74.14.

To find out which council tax band your household is in, go to www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter