Council Tax Support
Council Tax Support, formerly known as the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, is a reduction in Council Tax for people on a low income. If you’re eligible for it, we will reduce the amount of council tax you need to pay. If you are of working age but not working, or earn less than £86.80 per week, you won’t pay anything at all unless a person aged 25 or above is living with you and earning over £86.79 per week*.
If you’re on Universal Credit, you’ll need to make a separate claim for Council Tax Support.
Please note that if you’re a pensioner, the support you receive will be based on the central government scheme.
How Council Tax Support can help you
- A change in support for families with young adults living at home: If you’re a parent or carer and have a young adult living with you, we won’t reduce the amount of council tax support you receive until they reach the age of 25. However, we will ask you to pay something towards council tax if there is a person aged 25 or over living with you who earns £86.80 a week or over.
- Financial support for working families with children: If you work at least 16 hours a week, tell us what your childcare costs are because we will take them into account when we calculate your discount and the amount we ask you to pay.
- Financial support for residents with disabilities: If you currently receive a disability benefit like Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or if you look after someone and receive Carer’s Allowance, you’ll get more support to pay your council tax than residents who don’t receive a disability benefit.
- We’ve made the scheme fairer for residents on Universal Credit (UC). If you’re on Universal Credit (maximum amount), you’ll be able to backdate your application for Council Tax Support to the date you started receiving UC.
- We’re introducing income bands: If your income goes up and down, as long as your income stays within the same band, the amount of council tax you pay won’t change.
Apply for Council Tax Support online
Tell us about a change in your circumstances
*A deduction equivalent to 30% of your council tax will be made to your Council Tax Support award for anyone, except your partner, who lives with you and is aged over 25 years old and earns more than £86.79 per week. This is known as a non-dependent deduction