Council Tax bills are being issued by South Hams District Council this week, and for the first time you can access them online.

Residents will be able to access their Council Tax account and Benefits accounts online via one simple portal. You can use this portal to see your Council Tax bill, to set up a direct debit and view your payments, tell the council you’re moving house or that your house is empty, apply for a discount or exemption, apply for a benefit or tell the council about a change in circumstance.

You can log in with your Facebook, Microsoft or Google Account, if you have one, to make it easier, and then all you need is your benefit or Council Tax account numbers to access your accounts online.

Cllr Simon Wright said: “This is the next exciting stage in the evolution of our new website. We want to make it easier and quicker for our residents to manage their Council Tax and benefits accounts for themselves.

"When they go online they will see they can now instantly give us important information about their account, like if they are moving or their home is now empty. From the same screen they can also log in and manage their benefit information.

“This is a clear and simple portal that will enable our customers to have much more visibility and be able to manage their accounts with us easier than ever before."

One of the processes that it is aimed to have been made easier to perform on the site, is setting up a Direct Debit. To encourage as many residents as possible to use the new system, South Hams District Council is entering everyone who is signed up to pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit by Sunday, April 30, into a prize draw to win an iPad mini.

If you already pay by Direct Debit and wish to opt out of the prize draw, you can do so by emailing: [email protected]. If you don’t already pay by Direct Debit, you can go to the South Hams District Council website and follow the links to set up a Direct Debit by the end of April and sign up. Full terms and conditions can be found on the website: www.southhams.gov.uk.