Apply for a Council Tax discount - new

Your bill might be reduced if your property has had significant alterations to meet the needs of a disabled person who lives there. If you qualify, your bill will be reduced to the next lowest Council Tax band.

People who are severely mentally impaired are disregarded for Council Tax.

For Council Tax purposes, a person is regarded as being severely mentally impaired if they suffer, for whatever reason, from severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent.

The person must be entitled to at least one of the following benefits, or would have been entitled if they had not reached pensionable age:

• Incapacity benefit
• Attendance allowance
• Severe disablement allowance
• The daily living component of a Personal independent payment (PIP) paid at any rate
• The care component of a disability living allowance paid at the highest or middle rate
• An increase in the rate of disablement pension (where constant attendance is needed)
• Disability working allowance
• An unemployability supplement
• Constant attendance allowance with disablement benefit or war disablement pension
• An unemployability allowance
• Income support which includes a disability premium, or
• Their partner is receiving jobseeker’s allowance which includes a premium to make up for losing one of the above benefits

To apply, you will need:

• Evidence the person is entitled to a qualifying benefit
• The name of the person’s doctors and their address

When the application is completed, we will contact the person’s doctor to ask for confirmation that they have a severe mental impairment.

You are disregarded if you live with and care for someone with a disability who is receiving one of certain allowances, or a disablement pension.

You must be:

• Providing care for 35 hours per week on average, or
• Somebody who cares for an elderly person or a person with a disability in return for a payment of up to £44 per week can also receive a discount

Who cannot receive a discount

You cannot receive the discount if you are caring for:

• A husband or wife, or living as a husband or wife, or
• A child under 18 years

You are disregarded if you are living and receiving care in one of the following places as long as it is your only main home.

• Residential care home
• Nursing home
• Mental nursing home
• Hostels providing a high level of care

You are liable to pay Council Tax if you are in hospital for a short time and have a home elsewhere.

You are disregarded for Council Tax if you are a patient in a hospital, which is your only main home.

You can apply for a student discount.

You may qualify for a Council Tax discount if a foreign language assistant lives in your home who is:

• Registered with the Central Bureau for Education Visits and Exchanges, and
• Working as a foreign language assistant at a school or other Educational Institution in Great Britain

Student nurses in full time education are disregarded for Council Tax. They are treated as full-time students.

A student nurse not 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, are ALSO disregarded for Council Tax.

In order to qualify to be disregarded from Council Tax as an apprentice, you must meet the following criteria:

• 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

In order to qualify to be disregarded from Council Tax as a Youth trainee, you must be under 25 and undertaking training:

• Made through arrangements made under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(a)
• Funded by the Learning and Skills Council for England

You are disregarded if somebody in your household has recently left school or college.

We do not count school or college leavers for Council Tax purposes for the time between the end of their course and and the 1 November in the same year, as long as they are:

• Under 20 years old, and have finished a qualifying course of education between 30 April and 1 November

If they reach 20 before 1 November the discount will stop.

If everyone in your home is a recent school or college leaver, you may not need to pay anything. In this case, apply for a student exemption.

You are disregarded if you or someone in your household is a diplomat. To be counted as a diplomat for Council Tax purposes, you must:

• Be a diplomat or a dependant of a diplomat, or
• Have diplomatic privileges and immunities, and
• Not be British

If all the people liable for Council Tax fall into this category the property is exempt, even if there are other residents who are not diplomats.

You are disregarded if you or someone in your household is designated under the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act, or a dependent of them, lives in your home.

You are disregarded if you are or someone in your household is:

• A member of a qualifying visiting force, or of that force’s civilian component
• A dependent of a member, as long as the dependent is not a British Citizen or normally lives in the UK

If the property is occupied only by members of visiting forces or their dependents, there may be no Council Tax to pay.

You are disregarded if you or someone in your household lives in a hostel as their main home.

A hostel is a home which is mainly:

• Providing residential accommodation as a hostel or night shelter, and
• Not in separate and self-contained sets of premises, and
• Provided for the homeless, and
• Provided under licence to occupy which is not a tenancy

We may need to visit the hostel to get more information.

You are disregarded if someone in your household is in detention. We do not count people for Council Tax purposes if they are:

• In prison, hospital or elsewhere by order of a Court, or
• Under the Mental Health Act 1983, or
• Under the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 or the Naval Discipline Act 1957, or
• Awaiting deportation under the Immigration Act 1971

You must tell us when the person is released as this may affect the discount. We do count people for Council Tax purposes if they are:

• In custody for not paying fines or for not paying Council Tax, or
• In police custody before their first appearance in court

You are disregarded if you or someone in your household are:

• A member of a religious community whose main occupation is prayer, contemplation, education or the relief of suffering; and
• Has no income or capital of their own and is dependent upon the community for their material needs (pensions from previous employment are allowed)

You are disregarded if you or somebody in your household receives child benefit for someone in your household over the age of 18.

You will need proof of child benefit such as a copy of the payment book or letter from HM Revenues and Customs Child Benefits Office.

You can get 50% off your bill if you live in a property as a condition of your employment where it is specified as part of your employment contract. This discount may also apply to members of the Armed Forces.

The job related second home discount will apply to either:

• The job related dwelling if it is the second home of you or your spouse/civil partner i.e. not their main residence, or
• To another dwelling if the job related dwelling is your main residence or your spouse/civil partner and you have another dwelling that is therefore a second home

For a full list of criteria for tied accommodation discounts, contact us and let us know which discount you are applying for. Allow up to 14 working days for a response.

You can get 50% off your bill for annexes that have a separate Council Tax charge and is occupied either by:

• The residents of the main dwelling as part of their home, or
• A relative of the person liable to pay Council Tax for the main property.

For a full list of criteria for annexed discounts, contact us and let us know which discount you are applying for. Allow up to 14 working days for a response.