How to check if you are eligible for a council tax discount.
It is financial assistance based on your individual circumstances that is provided by us to people who are on a low income and cannot afford to pay the full amount of their council tax.
From April 2025 we have made changes to the scheme for working age households (we are unable to make changes to the pension age scheme as this is decided by government).
The new scheme is based on an income-banded grid with different figures depending on your individual circumstances (single, couple, single parent/couple with one child, single parent/couple with two or more children).
Depending on your (and your partner's) net income, you could receive a discount of:
- 85%
- 75%
- 50%
- 25%
This should make it easier for you to work out the amount of support you will receive based on your household income. It should also help you understand the impact that any changes to your income would have on the amount of support you will receive and the amount of council tax you will need to pay.
The scheme has been changed to make it simpler for you to understand and simpler for us to administer. It will result in fewer changes to the amount of council tax you need to pay if your income changes. You will receive fewer council tax bills and this should make it easier for you to budget.
A public consultation was held between July and September 2024 inviting residents to complete the consultation online or to request a paper copy to be sent to them. Information about the income banding scheme was clearly set out explaining what changes were being proposed. The public consultation was also advertised on our website and social media pages.
Various organisations and charities were also invited to provide their views on the proposals to allow us to gather a wide range of perspectives and opinions before making a decision
If you are of working age then you will have to pay at least 15% of your council tax bill but you may be able to apply for Council Tax Reduction to reduce the amount you need to pay.
If you are of pension age then depending on your circumstances, you may not have to pay any council tax if you apply for Council Tax Reduction.
You will receive the maximum support of 85% if you get:
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Minus any non-dependant deductions if you have another adult other than your partner living with you, for example, an adult son, daughter or relative.
If you make a claim for Universal Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the DWP will let us know and we can then treat that as your claim date for Council Tax Reduction, as long as you send us any other information we need within one calendar month of us writing to you.
If you already receive Council Tax Reduction, you do not need to do anything as your award will be recalculated based on the new scheme.
If you do not receive any Council Tax Reduction, you can make a claim here.
This will be assessed by working out the total net income from all your benefits, earnings and savings.
Earned income is calculated by deducting your tax and national insurance contributions and half of any contributions to a pension fund from your gross pay. We will then disregard up to £50 from this figure.
Unearned income will be the combined total of all other income for example:
- Universal Credit
- private and occupational pensions
- disability benefits
- child benefit
- other DWP benefits
Depending on your circumstances we will then disregard set amounts and/or certain benefits which gives the ‘Total Weekly Income’ to be used in the assessment.
Some incomes that you receive are ignored by us when we work out how much council tax support to pay you. These ignored amounts are called ‘income disregards.’
For a list of income and benefits that are disregard, please refer to Income we disregard.
If you want an explanation of your Council Tax Reduction Entitlement Letter, see Example Council Tax Reduction Entitlement Letters.
This shows you what has been included in calculating your Council Tax Reduction and what income band you are in.
You can look at the income grid to check that the extra income from your wage increase does not change the part of the grid that you are currently in.
If it doesn’t change then yes, this is right, your discount stays the same and the amount of council tax you need to pay won’t change so you won’t receive a new bill with more or less to pay.
For example, if you are currently receiving a 75% discount as a couple with no children in a household and you and/or your partners net income increases from £190 to £220 per week, then your discount will stay the same as it still falls within the £175.01 to £225 income band.
The new scheme is designed to be simpler and prevent small changes in your household income causing the amount of council tax you need to pay to change every time.
You are not entitled to Council Tax Reduction if you or your partner have savings of £16,000 or more. This applies to both working age and pension age schemes.
If you have someone aged 18 or over living with you (that isn’t your partner) it will affect how much Council Tax Reduction you get because they are expected to make a contribution towards your household expenses. A standard deduction of £10 per week will be taken from your entitlement for each adult that is living with you. This is known as a non-dependant deduction.
If you (or your partner) are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments, then we will not make a non-dependant deduction.
Your Council Tax Reduction must be reassessed if your circumstances change. You must notify the benefits team about changes such as:
- if anyone moves in or out of your household
- the birth of a child
- if you move address
- your total capital/savings are more than £16,000
- your income changes
- your rent increases or decreases (for private landlord tenants)
- anything else that you think might affect your entitlement.
You must let us know within one month of when the change happened by completing the change in circumstances form. Failure to do so could result in an overpayment or reduction which will have to be repaid and your claim may be cancelled.
It is an offence not to tell us about any change of circumstances that affects your entitlement. If you fail to report a change of circumstances, we may take action against you which could include imposing a penalty, caution or court action.
We will credit your council tax account with any Council Tax Reduction you are entitled to. This will reduce the amount that you will have to pay.
We will be launching an online calculator shortly. Please check back here for further information and a link to the calculator.
If you disagree with our decision, you must request that the benefits team reconsider your claim within two months of the date on your Council Tax Reduction entitlement letter. We will look at your claim and let you know if we have changed our decision. If we do not reply to you within two months or we do not change our decision then you can appeal directly to the Valuation Tribunal and if your case is accepted, you will need to attend an appeal hearing to present your case. The Valuation Tribunal will make the final decision.
You can appeal if you think you are entitled to Local Council Tax Reduction (LCTR) under the council’s scheme and/or you think you are entitled to more LCTR than you have been given.
If you still disagree with our decision, you will need to compete an appeal form which can be found on the Valuation Tribunal Agency website within two months of the decision.
We have an Exceptional Hardship fund that may be able to help you. It is in place to help people who are facing ‘exceptional hardship’.
This is not guaranteed and is considered based on your individual circumstances. If your application is successful then you will receive additional help to pay your council tax based on your individual needs. This is meant to provide short term financial help and you will need to work with us and other agencies to receive help and support to improve your financial position.
We recognise the importance of protecting our most vulnerable customers. This fund is in place to ensure that we protect and support those most in need.