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.
The information given below is a guide only. For more details or
to apply for a discount, please contact the
Council Tax Section.
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 Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority.
- The person’s earnings must be below the earnings limit which
applies at any time and must be expected to earn very much more
when they qualify.
Students
- Someone on a full time course at university or college which:
- lasts at least one academic or calendar year;
- requires the student to attend for at least 24 weeks in the
year; and
- involves study, tuition or work experience of an average of at
least 21hours a week in each academic or calendar year.
- Someone aged under 20 on a course which:
- lasts at least 3 months;
- involves at least 12 hours a week; and
- leads to a qualification up to A level, ONC or OND standard
(that is a course of further rather than higher education).
Student nurses and foreign language assistants at educational
establishments in Britain who are registered with the British
Council are also disregarded.
Youth Training trainees
- A person aged under 25 who is training under the Youth Training
Scheme
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.
Carers
- A person who provides care to someone (who is not their spouse,
partner, or child under 18) and lives in the same property as the
person they are caring for.
- The care must be provided for at least 35 hours a week.
- The person receiving the care must be receiving a relevant
state benefit.
- Find out more on our Support for
Carers pages.
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).
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.
This is a very brief guide to reductions for disabilities. For
more details or to apply for a reduction, please contact the Council Tax Section.
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:
The information given below is a guide only. For more details or
to apply for an exemption, please contact
the Council Tax Section.
Unfurnished
properties where nobody lives
Uninhabitable (Class A)
- The property must be uninhabitable or requiring or undergoing
major structural alterations.
- The exemption can also apply for up to 6 months after the work
has been completed.
- However the exemption can only last for a maximum of 12 months
in total from the time the property meets the exemption
criteria.
- The exemption also comes to an end if someone starts to live in
the property or if the property becomes furnished.
- If the property changes hands during the exemption period, the
new council taxpayer is only entitled to the remaining balance of
the exemption period.
- At the end of the exemption period, 50% council tax is
payable.
Substantially Unfurnished (Class C)
- The property must be substantially unfurnished. This means that
there must be either no furniture or only a very small number of
items of furniture in the property. If you think that a property is
exempt, you are advised to contact the Council Tax Section to check
that it does qualify.
- The exemption lasts for a maximum of 6 months from the time the
property meets the exemption criteria.
- If the property changes hands during the exemption period, the
new council taxpayer is only entitled to the remaining balance of
the exemption period.
- At the end of the exemption period, 50% council tax is
payable.
Furnished properties
where nobody lives
Persons Receiving Care (Class E & Class I)
- The property has been left unoccupied because the council
taxpayer has gone into a hospital or care home to receive personal
care on a permanent basis (Class E).
- The property has been left unoccupied because the council
taxpayer has gone to live with someone else to receive care due to
old age, disablement, illness, past or present alcohol or drug
dependence, or past or present mental disorder (Class I).
- There is no time limit on these exemptions. However, they do
not apply for any period that someone else is living in the
property.
Council Taxpayer Deceased (Class F)
- The property has been left unoccupied following the death of
the council taxpayer.
- The exemption can only last for up to 6 months after the date
of probate or letters of administration, but comes to an end if the
property is sold or if someone moves into the property.
Care Providers (Class J)
- The property has been left unoccupied because the council
taxpayer has gone to provide care for someone else.
- The carer does not have to live in the same property as the
person being cared for, but must be better able to provide that
care from their new home.
- There is no time limit on this exemption. However, it does not
apply for any period that someone else is living in the
property.
Furnished Properties
where someone lives
Students (Class N)
- The property is only occupied by students (including student
nurses on full time courses), school or college leavers.
- The exemption does not apply if there is a non-student in the
property.
- The exemption ceases if any of the occupants cease to be a
student on the day that the course ended or that person left the
course.
Under 18’s (Class S)
- The property is only occupied by persons under the age of
18.
- The exemption comes ends as soon as one of the occupiers
reaches the age of 18.
Severely Mentally Impaired (Class U)
- The property is only occupied by persons who are severely
mentally impaired (persons who have severe impairment of
intelligence and social functioning which appears to be
permanent).
- This exemption does not apply to a residential home, even if
all the occupants are severely mentally impaired, because it is the
owner of the home who is liable for council tax.
Annexes Occupied by Dependent Relatives (Class W)
- The property is part of another property and is the sole or
main resident of a person who is a dependent relative of the person
living in the other property.
- The dependent relative must be aged 65 or over; be severely
mentally impaired; or be substantially and permanently
disabled.
The other exemption classes are listed below.
For more information on these, please contact the Council Tax
Section on
01639 686840 (Neath) or
01639 763152 (Port Talbot)
- 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
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:
- e-mail to housing.benefits@npt.gov.uk
- phoning the Housing Benefits Section on
- 01639 686838 (Neath) or
- 763454 (Port Talbot)
- calling at:
- Neath One Stop Shop
Civic Centre
Neath
SA11 3QZ
- Housing Benefits Section
Civic Centre
Port Talbot
SA13 1PJ
- Pontardawe One Stop Shop
Holly Street
Pontardawe
SA8 3ET
- Or you can download the form.
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Last Updated: 31.08.2010 at 11:18