Ipswich Borough Council owes nearly £1million worth of refunds for overpaid council tax.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that the council owe £969,252.77 to the public in council tax refunds.
The near £1million figure is correct as of August 1 and the council says it is working hard to refund those they owe.
Councillor Martin Cook, portfolio holder for resources, said: “As with many other local authorities, if we hold bank details then we can easily refund customers when they close their account.
"However, many people do not pay their council tax by direct debit and those details are not held, which means a longer process to refund them.
"Further to this, when banding changes happen due to re-evaluation, we are then responsible for backdating credits for all other customer accounts for that address, sometimes over many years.
"We may not hold the details for multiple former tenants and many customers are not even aware they are due a refund after a banding change.
"The process is time consuming, but we uphold our responsibility to make every effort to trace all those due a refund.”
Figures were revealed earlier this year that showed Ipswich has the highest council tax charge in England for certain properties.
The House of Commons library released figures in August which showed that Ipswich is the highest charging shire district in England at £419.58 on a Band D property in 2025/26.
In February, Ipswich Borough Council's leaders have agreed to have its portion of council tax increase by 2.98%.
The council made the decision as they looked to bridge the £23million budget gap discovered last September over the next four years.
Leader Neil MacDonald stated that raising their portion of council tax by 2.98% would ensure that the council can continue to offer services to its residents.
To find out whether you are owed a council tax refund, visit https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-information/useful-forms-council-tax
