Council Tax Reduction & Discounts

Key Qualifications for Council Tax Reduction:

• Low Income/Benefits: You are receiving Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Employment and Support Allowance.
  
  

• Pensioners: Those on Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) may get maximum support.

• Savings Limit: Savings must generally be below £16,000, though this cap does not apply to Guarantee Pension Credit recipients.

• Occupancy Status: You may qualify if you live alone (25% discount), are a student, or have a severe mental impairment.
  
  

• Disability: If your home has adaptations for a disabled resident, you may qualify for a reduction.

• Circumstantial Cases: People in prison, hospital, or care homes, as well as carers, may be eligible.

If you are of working age and have more than £6,000 in savings, you may still be able to claim if you meet one of the following criteria:

• You have at least one child under the age of five living in your household
  
  

• You are in receipt of the Disability Premium or Disabled Child Premium
  
  

• You are in receipt of the Support Component of Employment Support Allowance
  
  

• You are in receipt of or entitled to Carer’s allowance

How much you receive depends on:

• Your personal circumstances
  
  

• How much money you have coming in
  
  

• What savings you have
  
  

• Whether there are any non-dependants in your home

If you are pension age,  your claim can be backdated for up to three months. If you are under pension age, you must state on your claim form or write to your local authority if you want your claim backdated. You must give a valid reason why you were unable to apply for your benefit earlier. 

The maximum period a benefit claim can be backdated is one month from the date we receive the request.

This is an amount of benefit you’ve been paid, but under statutory regulations are no longer entitled to. Overpayments usually happen following a change in circumstances (such as, if your income has increased) and where the local authority has not been notified in time to revise your benefit entitlement. 

If you have a change in your circumstances, it is important to let your local authority know straight away. If you have an overpayment you are normally sent a letter advising you of the following:

• The reason for the overpayment

• The amount you've been overpaid

• The dates of which the overpayment relates to

• Whether or not you have to pay back the overpayment

• How you can appeal the decision

The overpaid benefit is likely to be added to your Council Tax account and receive a revised Council Tax bill telling you what your new instalments are.

Failure to keep up with your Council Tax instalments can result in recovery action on your account. We may be able to look at the decision again. You have one calendar month from the date we told you about the overpayment to appeal. You should make your appeal in writing.

You may be able to get a discount or reduction on your Council Tax bill depending on who lives in the property and whether the property is occupied.

Single person discount

If only one adult lives in a property as their main home, a 25% discount may apply.

When we work out how many adults live in a property, some people are not counted. These are known as disregarded persons.

People who may be disregarded include:

• children under 18

• some 18 and 19 year olds where Child Benefit is still being paid

• some school leavers under 20

• full-time students

• student nurses

• some apprentices and trainees under 25

• people with a severe mental impairment who receive a qualifying benefit

• long-term hospital patients

• some people living in care homes or hostels

• most people in prison

• some care workers

• carers looking after someone they live with, as long as that person is not their spouse, partner or child under 18
  
  

If everyone in the property is disregarded, a 50% discount may apply.

You can apply online. If you ask for the discount to be backdated, you may need to provide evidence that you were living alone.

Annexes

A 50% discount may apply to an annex or similar property if:

• it is used as part of the main home, or

• it is occupied by a relative of the person liable for Council Tax on the main property

Empty properties

In most cases, empty properties do not receive a discount. Full Council Tax is payable unless an exemption applies.

An exemption may apply in some cases, for example if the property is uninhabitable or in a serious state of disrepair.

If you have moved into another property provided by your employer and you are required to live there because of your job, you may be entitled to a 50% discount on your empty property.

Long-term empty properties

If a property is empty and unfurnished for 2 years or more, an empty homes premium may apply.

From 1 April 2019, this means you may have to pay 200% of the normal Council Tax charge.

Who is responsible for paying Council Tax

Council Tax is usually paid by the person who lives in the property.

If a property is empty, the owner is usually responsible.

For Council Tax purposes, an owner is a person who has:

• a freehold interest in the property, or

• a leasehold interest granted for 6 months or more

Unoccupied rented properties

If a rented property is unoccupied, liability usually falls to the owner, as defined above.

Apply for a discount or reduction

You can apply online for a Council Tax discount or reduction. You may be asked to provide supporting evidence before any change is made to your account.

Some properties are fully exempt from Council Tax. This depends on whether the property is empty or occupied, and the circumstances of the people involved.

Empty properties that may be exempt

The following empty properties may qualify for a full exemption:

• A property owned by a charity (for up to 6 months)

• A property left empty because the resident has moved into prison, hospital, or a care home

• A property left empty after a death, while probate or letters of administration are being arranged, or for up to 6 months after they are granted. (This does not apply if the property has been transferred to a beneficiary, as they become liable)

• A property that is legally not allowed to be occupied

• A property waiting to be occupied by a minister of religion

• A property repossessed by a mortgage lender

• A property left empty because the resident is receiving or providing care elsewhere (special rules apply)

• A property owned by the Ministry of Defence for use as armed forces accommodation

• A property where Council Tax would normally be payable by a trustee in bankruptcy

• An unoccupied annex that cannot be let separately due to planning restrictions
  
  

Occupied properties that may be exempt

The following occupied properties may qualify for a full exemption:

• Properties where all residents are full-time students

• Properties occupied by a student and their spouse, where the spouse is not a British citizen and is not allowed to work or claim benefits

• Annexes occupied only by a dependent relative of the person living in the main property

• Properties occupied only by people who are severely mentally impaired

An application form is required for this exemption

Disabled reduction

You may be entitled to a reduction in your Council Tax if someone in your household has a disability and your home has been adapted to meet their needs.

This may apply if your home has:

• An extra bathroom or kitchen needed for the disabled person

• A room used specifically for the disabled person’s needs

• Enough indoor space for a wheelchair to be used

If you qualify, your bill will be reduced to the rate of the band below your current property band.

If your property is already in Band A (the lowest band), you may still receive a reduction.

You will need to apply to your local council for Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support). 

Use the government postcode checker to find your local authority.

The maximum period you can apply to backdate a council tax reduction claim is 6 months, this is laid out in the local government guidance manual. 

You will have to provide 'good cause' as to why yo did nto claim sooner for this to be accepted.

The local authority will request for information to decide whether you are entitled to any discounts. There may be special forms to apply for some types of discount. 

A discount can be backdated to the date it should have first applied, but you will be required to provide proof that you have qualified for the discount throughout the backdating period.

If you think you qualify for an exemption, you should request one. 

Ask your local authority if they have a special form, search on their website, or write to them requesting the exemption, stating the reasons you qualify and the date from which it should be applied. 

There is no time limit for applying and an exemption can be backdated to the date it should have first applied. You will be asked to produce evidence that the exemption applied throughout the backdating period.