Council tax reductions
Information about council tax discounts, eligibility criteria, disregarded persons, and reductions and premiums for empty properties.
Discounts and disregarded persons
The information provided is intended as guidance only and is not a full statement of the law.
If you live alone, or if certain adults residing in your dwelling are disregarded for council tax purposes, you could be entitled to a discount:
Sole occupier discount - if you live alone
| Disregarded person/s | Apply for discount |
|---|---|
| A student or student nurse | Contact us |
| An apprentice or youth training trainee | Apprentice application form |
| An 18-or 19-year old who is at or has just left school | Over 18s application form |
| A long-term hospital patient | Contact us |
| A permanent resident of a care home, nursing home or hostel | Contact us |
| Severely mentally impaired | Mentally impaired application form |
| A care worker on low pay (usually working for charities) | Contact us |
| A carer for someone with a disability who is not their husband, wife, partner or child under 18 | Carer application form |
| A member of a religious community | Contact us |
| In prison | Detained person application form |
| A member of visiting forces | Contact us |
| A person who holds permission to enter or to stay in the United Kingdom granted under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme route | Contact us |
Most of these categories have conditions which must be met and verified, therefore we may need to request certain information before any discount is applied. In the absence of such information and verification, we may assume that a discount does not apply, so we recommend that you contact us to check individual circumstances.
In all cases, we will continue to assume that a discount does or does not apply on every day of the period stated on your bill. You must tell us if this assumption is wrong.
If there is no discount and you think you should get one, you should write to us explaining why. We will tell you what evidence you may need to provide in support of your claim. If you get a form asking about discounts, you don’t have to return it, but if you think you’re eligible, returning the form may speed up the decision.
If we have given you a discount but you have reason to believe that you are no longer entitled to one, or believe a discount of a smaller amount should apply, you must notify us within 21 days. Failure to do so could lead to a penalty of £70 being imposed.
As part of our duty to continually safeguard public funds, we are committed to the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) and Section 6 of the Audit Commission Act requires us to participate in it. The NFI involves data matching and you are alerted to the fact that data held by the council about you may be used for this purpose.
Last updated: 19 March 2024