Apply for Council Tax Reduction
You should use a benefits calculator to check if you can get a Council Tax Reduction. This will tell you about other benefits and support you may be entitled to.
You may be able to get a Council Tax Reduction if you’re on a low income and pay council tax. This will reduce the amount of council tax you have to pay.
Who can apply
You can apply for Council Tax Reduction if:
- you’re the person responsible for paying council tax
- you have savings of less than £16,000
How does Council Tax Reduction work
We have five schemes for working age households which are used when working out any entitlement.
We’ll not give Council Tax Reduction if your entitlement is calculated at less than £10 per week.
Your Council Tax Reduction will be reduced if you and your partner have other adults living with you. This is because they are expected to help pay the costs.
Working age scheme 1
You may be able to get Council Tax Reduction which may cover up to 78% of your council tax.
You or your partner (if you have one) must receive:
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
We’ll not take a deduction from your Council Tax Reduction for other adults living with you.
Working age scheme 2
You may be able to get Council Tax Reduction which may cover up to 65% of your council tax.
You must have one or more dependent child in your household.
You or your partner (if you have one) must receive either:
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income related Employment Support Allowance
- Universal Credit and not working
- Contribution based Employment Support Allowance and not working
We’ll make a deduction from your Council Tax Reduction if you have other adults living in the household:
- £10 per week if the adult is not working or a full time student
- £20 per week if the adult is working
- No deduction if the adult receives Carers Allowance
Working age scheme 3
You may be able to get Council Tax Reduction which may cover up to 55% of your Council Tax.
You’ve no dependent children in your household.
You or your partner (if you have one) must receive either:
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income related Employment Support Allowance
- Universal Credit and not working
- Contribution based Employment Support Allowance and not working
We’ll make a deduction from your Council Tax Reduction if you have other adults living in the household:
- £10 per week if the adult is not working or a full time student
- £20 per week if the adult is working
- No deduction if the adult receives Carers Allowance
Working age scheme 4
You may be able to get Council Tax Reduction which may cover up to 51% of your council tax.
You’ve one or more dependent children in your household.
You or your partner (if you have one) must either:
- work and have joint earnings of less than £313 per week
- not work and not receive a state benefit that you might be entitled to
We’ll make a deduction from your Council Tax Reduction if you have other adults living in the household:
- £10 per week if the adult is not working or a full time student
- £20 per week if the adult is working
- No deduction if the adult receives Carers Allowance
Working age scheme 5
You may be able to get Council Tax Reduction which may cover up to 41% of your council tax.
You’ve no dependent children in your household.
You or your partner (if you have one) must either:
- work and have joint earnings of less than £234 per week
- not work and not receive a state benefit that you might be entitled to
We’ll make a deduction from your Council Tax Reduction if you have other adults living in the household:
- £10 per week if the adult is not working or a full time student
- £20 per week if the adult is working
- No deduction if the adult receives Carers Allowance
If you’re pension age
You may be able to get Council Tax Reduction which covers 100% of your council tax.
We’ll calculate this using your household composition, your income and the income of any of your household members.
There will be deductions made from your Council Tax Reduction if you have other adults living in the household. This will be £4.90, £10.05, £12.60 or £15.10 per week. The amount will depend on their weekly income.
Second adult rebate for pensioners
If you’re a single pensioner you can apply for Second Adult Rebate if:
- you share your home with another adult who is not your partner
- they're on a low income and cannot pay towards the Council Tax
You cannot get a second adult rebate if you qualify for Council Tax Reduction.
The person responsible for paying council tax must make the claim. The claim will be based on the income of the second adult. It can cover up to 25% of the Council Tax for your home.
If the income of the second adult is over £344 per week, you will not qualify for Second Adult Rebate.
Apply for a second adult rebate
Universal Credit
If you have recently applied for Universal Credit
Your application will be sent to us by the Department for Work and Pensions, if you ticked that you would like to apply for Council Tax Reduction.
You do not need to complete the online application form.
If you already receive Universal Credit
You’ll need to submit evidence of your Universal Credit award when you complete your application. This can be accessed from your online journal.
How to apply
You’ll need evidence of:
- identity for you and your partner such as a passport, driving licence or birth certificate
- national insurance number for you and your partner
- details of members in your household, for example their date of birth and income
- earnings for you and your partner
- benefits, allowances and pensions for you and your partner
- you and your partners bank accounts
- your most recent monthly statement if you’re receiving Universal Credit
We may contact you if we need more information or evidence.
Make sure you have all the information you need before you start. You can:
- take a clear photo with your phone or tablet
- scan your documents using your home printer if you can do this
You can add your evidence when you apply online.
Apply for Council Tax Reduction
Return to an application you have started
You can save your application and come back to it later.
To go back to your application you’ll need:
- your surname
- your national insurance number
- a citizens access benefits key. This will have been emailed to you when you saved your application
- answers to the three security questions set up when you saved your application
What happens next
If you’re unable to upload your evidence when you submitted your application, you can do this using our online form as soon as possible.
Provide evidence to support your benefit claim
You have one month to provide the evidence requested, so that your claim can be processed. We will not send you a reminder.
If we need any more information, we’ll let you know.
We’ll write to you as soon as possible with our decision.
Changes to our scheme
We update our Council Tax Reduction scheme each year.
