Council Tax Support for working age people

You may get Council Tax Support if:

• you pay Council Tax
• you are on a low income or claiming benefits
• your savings are below £6,000

If you make a claim for, or already receive Universal Credit, this will not include Council Tax Support. You will need to apply for Council Tax Support too.

You can apply if you’re employed or unemployed. If you live with a partner, you will need to make a claim together.

Who isn’t eligible

You won’t get Council Tax Support if:

• your savings are over £6,000 (unless you get Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) and Employment Support Allowance (Income Related))
• you do not have to pay Council Tax or you are exempt from paying it
• you’re subject to immigration control and your granted leave states that you cannot claim public funds

We compare your weekly income (and your partners income, if you have one), to a range of income bands. Then we apply a percentage reduction to your Council Tax charge.

We use your net earned income in your calculation. This is your gross income minus tax, National Insurance contributions and 50% of any pension contribution.

If you currently claim Council Tax Support, when you receive your new bill it will tell you what support you are receiving, based on your weekly income and household.

2024/2025 income bands

If you are in the lowest income band, you will be eligible for 100% discount on your bill.

Single person

Band	Weekly income from	Weekly income to	How much discount you'll get
1	£0	£92	100%
2	£92.01	£127	80%
3	£127.01	£162	60%
4	£162.01	£197	40%
5	£197.01	£232	20%
6	£232.01	Upwards	0%

Couple

Band	Weekly income from	Weekly income to	How much discount you'll get
1	£0	£145	100%
2	£145.01	£185	80%
3	£185.01	£225	60%
4	£225.01	£265	40%
5	£265.01	£305	20%
6	£305.01	Upwards	0%

Families with 1 child

Band	Weekly income from	Weekly income to	How much discount you'll get
1	£0	£170	100%
2	£170.01	£210	80%
3	£210.01	£250	60%
4	£250.01	£290	40%
5	£290.01	£330	20%
6	£330.01	Upwards	0%

Families with 2 children

Band	Weekly income from	Weekly income to	How much discount you'll get
1	£0	£235	100%
2	£235.01	£275	80%
3	£275.01	£315	60%
4	£315.01	£355	40%
5	£355.01	395	20%
6	£395.01	Upwards	0%

Families with 3 or more children

Band	Weekly income from	Weekly income to	How much discount you'll get
1	£0	£300	100%
2	£300.01	£340	80%
3	£340.01	£380	60%
4	£380.01	£420	40%
5	£420.01	£460	20%
6	£460.01	Upwards	0%

If you receive benefits

When we calculate your weekly income to work out your band, we will not take into account the following:

• Carers Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Child Maintenance
• Disability Living Allowance
• The Support component of Employment and Support Allowance
• Personal Independence Payments
• War Widows/Widowers and War Disablement Pensions

If you are receiving Universal Credit, we will not take into account following elements of your Universal Credit award:

• Carer Element
• Disabled Child Element
• Housing Element
• Limited Capability for Work Elements

If you are in work

If you are in work we will exclude £20 from your weekly household earned income before we work out how much support you will get.

If a member of your household is disabled

If a member of your household is disabled and in receipt of certain disability benefits, we will exclude a further £50 per week from your total weekly income.

If your Council Tax band is higher than Band E

The Council Tax Reduction will be limited to a Band E charge. This means if you live in a band F, G or H, the maximum support you can get is 100% of a band E charge in the parish you live in. See our Council Tax bands and charges.

If a non-dependant person lives with you

A non-dependant is someone aged 18 or over who lives with you but is not a tenant or a lodger. For example, a grown up son or daughter who lives at home.

In most cases, we will make a deduction from your Council Tax Support because we expect that your non-dependant will help towards housing costs, whether they do or not.

There is a standard weekly deduction of £5 for any non-dependants living in your household who are not in full time education.

If the support you get has gone down because of the new scheme

If your Council Tax Support drops as a result of the new scheme and you are facing exceptional financial hardship as a result, you can apply for a discretionary discount.

If your household income changes

If your household income changes but it remains in the same income band, the amount of support you get will not change. The amount of support will change if the income of your household goes up or down and moves you into another income band.

You must tell us about changes in your circumstances which could affect what support you get. Tell us about changes to your:

• income – whether it goes up or down
• household – someone moves in or out
• capital - whether it goes up

Capital includes cash, current accounts and savings accounts with a bank or building society, Premium Bonds, National Savings Certificates, stocks/shares and the value of any land or property owned (other than the one you live in).

You must tell us within 21 days of the change. If you do not tell us then you may be overpaid or miss out on additional support.

When we calculate your Council Tax Support, we will work out your entitlement for the full financial year (up to 31 March) and this will be shown as a credit on your Council Tax bill.

If your circumstances change during that financial year, the amount of Council Tax Support credited to your bill may need to change. This will also change the amount you pay towards your Council Tax.

When your Council Tax Support will start

If you qualify for Council Tax Support, we will normally pay your benefit from the Monday following the day we receive your completed claim form.

Backdating

We may be able to backdate your benefit up to 3 months before the date your claim is received, as long as you were entitled to benefit for that period. You will need to request a backdate when you make your application.

For us to work out how much benefit you will be entitled to, you need to give us proof of your income and savings for the period you want to claim.

If you think your Council Tax Support is wrong

You will be sent a letter confirming your award of Council Tax Support when this has been calculated. If you think your award is wrong, you can ask us to review it or make an appeal.

We prefer if you apply online. This speeds things up, saves public money and frees up time so we can support those who are unable to apply online.

Before you start

You'll be asked for your National Insurance number, details of income and bank accounts.

Apply for Council Tax Support

If you need help applying, contact us and we can support you through the process.

Sending us your documents

Send your form to us as soon as possible, even if you don't have all the requested documents. This means we can begin processing your application as quickly as possible.

We need original copies of proof of your identity which you can bring to one of our our offices.