Reducing your council tax

Over 18, but your parent/guardian still entitled to receive Child Benefit

You will not be counted if you are 18 or 19 years old and in full time education, other than higher education.

You will not be counted if you left school after 30 April until 1 November of the same year. 

Claiming a student discount

To check whether you are eligible for a discount, or exemption from Council Tax because the occupants of the household are students, please follow the checklist below:

If a resident wishes to be disregarded (not counted) from the Council Tax liability for being a student, they must satisfy the following conditions;

Full time study

You are regarded as a full time student for Council Tax purposes if:

• You are undertaking a university or college course which lasts for at least one academic year, takes at least 24 weeks a year, and involves at least 21 hours allocated study time per week during term time.
• You are under the age of 20 years and studying for more than three months, for at least 12 hours per week for any qualification up to 'A' level, ONC or OND standard.
• Student Nurses studying academic courses at universities or who are on Project 2000 courses are classed as students for Council Tax purposes.
• The period of the student's course runs from the day the course begins until it is completed (the end of the exams) or the student leaves the course uncompleted.

In order to apply for the discount, you must fill in and return the form that can be downloaded from the related download section and enclose student certificates for all students resident in the property. The certificate will be obtainable from your student admission or administration office, and must contain the following information:

• Name and address of educational establishment
• Name of student
• Name of course
• Start and end date of course
• Hours of study eg full-time or 21 hours per week on one course

If you fail to provide the required information; i.e. the application form is not completed fully, or certificates are not sent with the form, the process will be delayed. Help us to help you by providing all information; remember you will remain liable for the full Council Tax charge until a discount or exemption is granted, so it is in your interest to provide the information as quickly as possible!

From 1 April 2004, if two people are at the same stage of the hierarchy of liability, one is a student and the other is not; the student will not be made liable for Council Tax. Therefore, in households where there are both students and non-students, only the non-students will be liable.

Student Nurses

A student would not be on a full-time course at college or university but are following a course leading to an appropriate registration under the Nurses Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979.

Student nurses in full time education are also disregarded but since 1994 they are treated as full time students and could qualify for the Class N exemption.

Foreign Language Students

Registered with the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges, as a foreign language assistant, and is appointed as a foreign language assistant at a school or other educational institute in Great Britain.

Student undertaking Qualifying Course

A young person under 20 who leaves a qualifying course after 30 April in any year is disregarded up to 31st October in the same year. The same terms 'full time course of education' apply as in the Full Time study disregard.

The term 'student' also covers young people under the age of 20 who are not on a full-time course of education but are undertaking a qualifying course of education.

A 'qualifying course' is one that subsists for at least 3 calendar months and is not a course of higher education. Evening classes and correspondence courses do not qualify and neither does job-related training where the course is being taken in consequence of the person's employment. It must require at lease 12 hours per week to be spent on the relevant activities of the course.

Apprentices

• Vocational or job 'trade' experience
• Leading to a qualification accredited by the national Council for Vocational Qualifications (NVQ)
• Must not earn over £195 per week.

Youth Trainee

Youth trainees must meet the following criteria in order to be disregarded from Council Tax liability:

• Under 25
• Undertaking training -

1. Pursuant to arrangements made under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(a)
2. This must be funded by the Learning and Skills Council for England.