Reductions to Council Tax bills
General
Council Tax bills can be reduced by:
Discounts
We base Council Tax bills on the assumption that there are two
or more adults (that is, people aged 18 or over) living in the
property.
If only one adult lives in the property, we grant a 25%
discount. This is called a Single Person Discount.
There are also some people we do not count towards the number of
adults living in a property.
- If we count only one adult, there will be a 25% discount;
- If we do not count any adults, there will be a 50%
discount.
The most common types of people who we do not count are listed
below.
Prisoners in detention
- someone on remand or in prison (unless they are in prison for
not paying Council Tax or a fine).
People who are severely mentally impaired
- someone suffering from severely impaired intelligence and
social functioning however caused) which appears to be permanent
(including Alzheimer's disease);
- a registered medical practitioner has to certify the person is
severely mentally impaired;
- the severely mentally impaired person must receive one of a
number of qualifying benefits, including certain incapacity
benefits, disability allowances, unemployability allowances or
attendance allowances.
People who child benefit is paid for
- Someone over 18, who Child Benefit is still being paid
for.
18 and 19 year olds
- we do not count 18 or 19 year olds in full time education at
school or at college on a course up to and including A level until
1 November in the year in which they leave school or college, or
until they become 20 if this is sooner;
- this does not include 18 and 19 year olds in higher education,
who may qualify for discounts as students (see below).
Apprentices
- someone who is employed to learn a trade or profession and, as
part of that learning, receives training which leads to a
qualification recognised by the National Council for Vocational
Qualifications;
- this person must not be earning more than £160 a week but must
be expected to earn very much more when they qualify.
Students
- a student nurse taking an academic course at a university or on
a Project 2000 course.
- a foreign-language assistant at an educational establishment in
Britain who is registered with the Central Bureau for Educational
Visits and Exchanges.
Youth Training trainees
- a person aged under 25 who is training under the Youth Training
Scheme (for example, TCT Options, Future, Next Step).
Hospital patients
- the person must be a patient who is living in the
hospital;
- someone who is in hospital but will be returning to their home
does not meet the definition.
Care workers
Patients in a care home, nursing home, mental nursing home, or
hostel providing a high level of care
- a person living in one of the above and receiving care there
(someone who will be returning to their home does not meet the
definition).
Other types of people who are not counted are:
- residents of hostels for the homeless or night shelters;
- members of religious communities;
- members (and dependants) of international headquarters and
defence organisations;
- members (and dependants) of visiting forces;
- persons with diplomatic privileges or immunities;
- non-British husbands and wives of students.
If nobody is living in the property and it is unfurnished, we
will grant a 50% discount (see Empty
Properties).
If the property is a second home or a holiday home, we will
normally give a 25% discount (see second
homes and holiday homes).
If you want more information or if you want to apply for a
discount, please contact the Council Tax Section by:
Reductions for
disabilities
We may grant a reduction where a disabled person lives in a
property that has one of the following features which is required
to meet their needs:
- a room (but not a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) used only by the
disabled person;
- a second bathroom or kitchen for the disabled person; or
- enough floor space to permit the use of a wheelchair
indoors.
If you qualify for a reduction, we will reduce your Council Tax
bill to the amount payable in the next lowest valuation band (that
is, if your property is in band D, we will reduce your bill to the
charge for a band C property). If your property is in valuation
band A, we will still reduce your bill.
If you want to apply for a disabled reduction, please contact
the Council Tax Section by:
Exemptions
Some properties are exempt from Council Tax.
Some exemptions last for only a fixed period, while others last
for as long as the property meets the exemption conditions.
We explain the main exemption classes below. There are three
broad categories of exemption:
Unfurnished
properties where nobody lives
Furnished properties
where nobody lives
Properties where someone
lives
The other exemption classes are listed below.
For more information on these, please contact the Council Tax
Section (see below).
- Class B - Empty properties owned by charities
- Class D - Properties left empty by people in prison
- Class G - Properties which cannot be lived in by law
- Class H - Empty properties held for a minister of religion
- Class K - Properties left empty by students
- Class L - Repossessed properties
- Class M - Student halls of residence
- Class O - Armed forces accommodation
- Class P - Properties occupied by members of visiting
forces
- Class Q - Properties left empty by a bankrupt person
- Class R - Unoccupied caravan pitches and boat moorings
- Class T - Unoccupied annexes
- Class V - Properties occupied by diplomats
If you want more information or if you want to apply for an
exemption, please contact the Council Tax Section by:
Council Tax Benefit
You may be eligible for Council tax benefit if you have a low
income. However, you cannot claim if you have savings of over
£16,000 unless you are 60 or over and are receiving the guarantee
element of pension credit.
You can still claim Council Tax Benefit if you are working.
The amount of benefit you get will depend on:
- how much your weekly income is;
- how much savings you have;
- how many dependent children you have; and
- how many non-dependants are living with you and their
income.
Click here to get more details on Council
Tax Benefit
You can get an application form for Council Tax Benefit by: