Card The Bill

Pay council rates by credit card

Last updated 6 Oct 2026. Fees and rules checked against primary sources on 6 Oct 2026.

Council rates are one of the biggest bills a household pays. If your notice has a BPAY biller code, you can put it on a card through a bill payment service and set it to repeat.

Pay BPAY bills with Sniip ↗ (opens in a new tab)pay.com.au (ABN holders) ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Fees apply and are shown by the provider before you pay. Card The Bill may receive a referral reward from providers we link to.

What you need from your rates notice

Sniip has a page for Sunshine Coast Council rates and lists its biller code as 18259. For any other council, use the details on your own notice; we only publish council-specific details we can verify.

How to pay with Sniip

  1. Add the notice: import it from your email, scan the BPAY code, upload a photo or screenshot, or enter the biller code by hand.
  2. Choose your card. Paying from a bank account is free; card fees are shown before you confirm.
  3. Pay now, schedule it, or tap Create Recurring Payment for quarterly or monthly instalments.

Fees for rates (as at 6 Oct 2026)

On Sniip: Visa or Mastercard credit 1.50%, debit 0.65%, bank account 0%. A personal Amex pays 1.29% if the council is in an eligible category, otherwise 2.19%. A business paying rates on business property can also use pay.com.au with an ABN (free plan Visa or Mastercard 1.20% + GST).

Worked example: a $600 quarterly instalment on Visa

Fee $9.00. On a card earning 0.5 points per $1: about 305 card points plus 60 Qantas Points through Sniip, worth about $3.65 at 1 cent a point, a net cost of about $5.35. Break-even is about 2.47 cents a point. Over a year that's $36 in fees for about 1,460 points.

Is the fee worth the points? Plug in your own card and bill in the fee vs points calculator. It shows the fee, the points, their value and your break-even cents per point.

Since 1 October 2026

Businesses can no longer add a card surcharge on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or Amex. Billers that don't want to absorb card costs may stop taking cards. If your council's payment options have changed, check the notice and the council's website. Tell us at hello@cardthebill.com.au and we'll add it to our changes log once verified.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay council rates by credit card?

Many councils list a BPAY biller code on the rates notice. A service such as Sniip can pay that BPAY bill and charge your card, even if the council doesn't take cards directly or charges for them.

What's the BPAY biller code for my council?

It's printed on your rates notice with your own reference number. Always use the code on your latest notice. As an example, Sniip lists Sunshine Coast Council's biller code as 18259.

Will I get Sniip's 1.29% Amex rate on rates?

Possibly. Sniip's 1.29% personal Amex rate covers 21 industries, including government services not elsewhere classified. Whether your council falls in an eligible category decides the rate, and Sniip shows the exact fee before you confirm.

Can I set up recurring rates payments?

Yes. In Sniip you can create a recurring payment with your chosen amount, start date, frequency and card.

Does paying by card affect my early payment discount?

Discounts and due dates are set by your council and shown on your notice. Pay early enough for the money to arrive by the due date: Sniip pays BPAY billers the next business day for payments before 5pm AEST.

Sources

Checked on 6 Oct 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm with the source before you pay.

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