10 ways to ACT NOW and beat April bill shocks - council tax UP, stamp prices UP, TV licence UP, energy bills UP and more

This April, whether we're in, out or, most likely, just shaken all about, once thing is certain... prices for public services are rising. Many public bodies do their annual charges assessment to coincide roughly with the new tax year and, no surprise, as usual most are going up.

While you can't prevent the rises, there are often other ways to cut these bills. I want to show you how you can steal a March (sorry) on April's hikes.

1. Stamp prices rise next Mon - stock up by Sun. On 25 Mar, the price of a 1st class standard letter rises to 70p, 2nd class to 61p. Large letters rise by even more.
   
   Yet stamps don't have a price on them, most just say "1st" or "2nd" and there's no expiry date. So if you'll use them in future, stock up now (eg, if you post lots of Christmas cards). Simon took this to the extreme in the past, responding to our tweet to see who's beaten past rises. He said: "@MoneySavingExp I bought £500 of stamps when I retired nine years ago and still have about £200 worth. I must have a saved a fortune."
   
   
2. My warning to all workers age 22+. On 6 Apr you're likely due a BIG hidden pay rise, but it'll cost you. One under the radar change coming is to the pension contributions most employees automatically make without being aware of. If you're an employee, you need to read my important pay rise/pay cut warning.
   
   
3. TV licence fee to rise on 1 Apr - but do you need one? The colour licence increases by £4 to £154.50, black & white (yes, there is still such a thing) by £1.50 to £52.
   
   So check who can legally ditch the TV licence. Plus if someone aged 75+ lives in your home, licences should be free. If not and you've been paying unnecessarily, you can reclaim the TV licence fee (a whopping £38m was refunded to over-75s from 2015-2018).
   
   
4. Council taxes up an avg £75/yr on 1 Apr - are you due £1,000s back? The 4.5% average council tax rise in Eng (some a lot more) is equivalent to £75 on a typical band D property. Rises are expected in Wal and Scot too. While you can't stop this, there are many ways you could cut council tax costs...
   
   - Are you in too high a band? Up to 400,000 households in Eng and Scot are in the wrong band. In 2007, I came up with the council tax check & challenge system. We've had 10,000s successes since, and have added free tools to make it even easier.
   
   Succeed and you don't just get your band lowered, you get a backdated refund too, as Susan emailed: "Refunded approx £3,000 and downgraded, so my monthly payments remain lower to this day. Thanks so much. This put us back in the black."
   
   - Do you have or live with someone with a severe mental impairment (SMI), eg, dementia or severe learning difficulties? This likely affects up to 100,000, but it is scarcely known about, even by some council staff. Anyone with an SMI can be 'disregarded' for council tax purposes, meaning a 25% or even 100% bill reduction.
   
   Like Tom, who tweeted: "@MartinSLewis Thank you. After seeing you talk about council tax exemption, I've claimed back £9,650 for my dad who suffered a stroke in 1999 and has lived alone since 2005. Thank you. This will make a big difference." See how to claim the council tax SMI discount.
   
   

   - Moved since 1993? You could be owed £100+. An MSE investigation recently revealed more than £230m of credit should have been paid back. Are you due a council tax refund?
   
   - Live alone? You may qualify for the 25% single person discount.

5. English prescriptions up to £9 on 1 Apr - 800,000 miss out on £50/yr by not using prepay certificate. Those who pay for prescriptions in Eng will see a 20p price rise on 1 Apr (they're free in the rest of the UK).
   
   Yet you could get an NHS prescription season ticket, where for a one-off £29.10 for 3mths or £104/yr it covers all your prescriptions - so use one a month and it wins. Our freedom of info request showed more than 800,000 people (in 2016/17) missed out on savings averaging £50/yr by not having one.
   
   
6. A bit of good news... from 6 Apr most will pay less tax. Happy New Year... the new tax year that is. OK, there aren't any party poppers, but at least income tax thresholds are going up. For most people it'll work like this, though see our 2019/20 tax thresholds guide for more (our income tax calc will be updated next week to show your tax-home pay).
   
   - The personal allowance rises to £12,500 (currently £11,850). This is the amount you can earn per year without paying income tax.
   - Earnings above that are taxed at 20%.
   - This rises to 40% on any earnings over £50,000 (currently £46,350).
   - Earn over £100,000 and you start to lose your personal allowance.
   - You pay 45% tax on any earnings above £150,000.
   
   These thresholds apply in Eng, Wal and NI, see Scottish Tax Rates for how it differs there.
   
   
7. Your tax code is changing - it's your responsibility to check it. Many employees should have been sent their new tax code for the 2019/20 tax year, which starts on 6 Apr (the new basic one is 1250L). This tells employers how much tax to take from you.
   
   Millions are wrong each year, leading to you potentially facing a large bill later, so check it (that's your responsibility, not your employers, under the law) - our Tax Code Guide will explain how the principle works (though it is currently written for the 2018/19 tax year).
   
   
8. Energy prices rise a typical £120/yr for most on 1 Apr - switch to save £300/yr. The energy price cap on standard tariffs rises from £1,137/yr for someone with typical usage to £1,254/yr. As more than 50% of people are on these tariffs, that means a chunky rise.
   
   Quickly use our Cheap Energy Club to see if you can save possibly £300+. Though we hope to be able to bring you some special deals to cut costs further next week.
   
   
9. Water bills rise an avg 2% on 1 Apr - some can save £500+ a year with a meter. Rises vary by region (a few, such as South Staffordshire, will fall). You can't switch supplier, yet in Eng and Wal most can switch to a water meter for free.
   
   My rule of thumb on this is... if you've more or the same number of bedrooms in your home as people, it's worth checking out. If so, see our Cut Water Bills guide, which includes links to a free calculator. Anne tweeted: "@MartinSLewis The best household saving I've ever made was to use a water meter. Bills reduced from £83 a month to £18." That's nearly £800 a year saved!
    
10. Dental fees to rise on 1 Apr - book an appointment now. Basic NHS check-ups are up £1.10 to £22.70 in Eng and 30p to £14.30 in Wal. Some other charges rise too. There's little you can do except try to get an appointment before then. There's no change in Scot and NI.