Council Tax Support

Council Tax Support 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 though 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

How will the income bands work?

This table will give you an idea of how much council tax you’ll be asked to pay based on your earnings and household circumstances.

The bands are based on the London Living Wage (LLW) and will increase as the LLW increases.

Your weekly earnings (figures in this column are inclusive)	You don’t have children		You do have children		You’re disabled or a carer
	Your discount	The amount of council tax you’ll pay	Your discount	The % you’ll pay	Your discount	The % you’ll pay
Not working	You’ll get 100% of your council tax paid for you	You won’t pay anything	You’ll get 100% of your council tax paid for you	You won’t pay anything	You’ll get 100% of your council tax paid for you	You won’t pay anything
You earn less than £86.80 per week	You’ll get 100% of your council tax paid for you	You won’t pay anything	You’ll get 100% of your council tax paid for you	You won’t pay anything	You’ll get 100% of your council tax paid for you	You won’t pay anything
You earn between £86.80 and £173.59 per week	You’ll get a 55% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 45% of your council tax	You’ll get a 65% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 35% of your council tax	You’ll get a 85% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 15% of your council tax
You earn between £173.60 and £390.59 per week	You’ll get a 35% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 65% of your council tax	You’ll get a 45% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 55% of your council tax	You’ll get a 55% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 45% of your council tax
You earn between £390.60 and £429.66 per week	You won’t get a reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay all of your council tax	You’ll get a 30% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 70% of your council tax	You’ll get a 45% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 55% of your council tax
You earn between £429.66 and £488.25 per week	You won’t get a reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay all of your council tax	You’ll get a 15% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 85% of your council tax	You’ll get a 30% reduction in your council tax	You’ll pay 70% of your council tax

*Earnings are based on the gross payment before Tax, National Insurance and Pension deductions are taken. We do not count any military compensation payments as earnings.

Child care costs and savings

If you pay for childcare then part of this cost can be deducted from your earnings. This can be up to £175 (for one child) or £300 (for two or more children) per week for the following categories:

lone parents who work at least 16 hours per week.
couples who both work at least 16 hours per week.
couples if one of them works at least 16 hours per week and the other one is incapacitated, or in hospital, or in prison (whether serving a sentence or on remand)

To qualify the child or children will need to be with:

a registered child minder, nursery or play scheme.
a child minding scheme for which registration is not required (e.g. run by a school, local authority).
childcare approved for working tax credit purposes.
any out-of-school-hours scheme provided by a school on school premises or by local authority – in this case only the child must be aged 8 or more.

You will not qualify if the child is 15 years old or more. If the child is disabled the age would be 16 years.

Capital

If you or your partner have savings of over £16,000 you will not be eligible to claim Council Tax Support.

What do we mean by capital?

Capital means any savings, investments or property owned by you and your partner (if you have one). Capital includes:

cash savings
savings in banks, building societies or the Post Office
money in current accounts
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
premium bonds and income bonds
National Savings Certificates
stocks, shares, unit trust holdings, government securities and bonds
lump sums such as redundancy payments, insurance payments and back payments of Social Security benefits
tax refunds
money invested in a business and business assets
property, such as a house you own but don't live in
land
money held in trust
money you have borrowed

Help with your Council Tax Support

How can you get support to move onto Council Tax Support?

Below is a list of our partner organisations who you can speak to for advice based on your circumstances.

Need help to understand your Council Tax Support letter?

Call us on 020 7974 4444 to ask questions over the phone or to make an appointment to speak to someone in person.

Want to find better-paid work or need support to help your adult child find a job, gain work experience or learn more about training opportunities?

find out more about apprenticeships in Camden
camden.gov.uk/apprenticeships or 020 7974 4444
find out more about jobs, training and apprenticeships
camden.gov.uk/employment-support
find out how to access adult learning
camden.gov.uk/adultlearning

If you need advice to manage money or debt, or you’re being asked to pay a different amount and need support to make this change, three of our partner organisations can help you with these issues, or you can contact us directly on 020 7974 4444.

1. Money Advice Service
0800 138 1677
moneyadviceservice.org.uk

2. Mary Ward Legal Centre
020 7831 7079
marywardlegal.org.uk

3. Citizens Advice Camden
0808 278 7835
camdencabservice.org.uk

Apply for Council Tax Support online

Tell us about a change in your circumstances

Backdated Council Tax Support

Council Tax Support is usually awarded from the Monday after we receive your application. In some circumstances support can be awarded from an earlier date. This is called backdated Council Tax Support.

Pension-age applicants

Council Tax Support may be backdated by up to a maximum of 3 months - regardless of the reason for not applying earlier.

Working-age applicants

Working-age applicants who are in receipt in one of the following benefits can have their support backdated to the start of the benefit, or 1 April 2020 if later:

Universal Credit (maximum amount)
Employment and Support Allowance (Income-Related)
Jobseekers' Allowance (Income-Based)
Income Support

Working-age applicants who are not in receipt of one of the above benefits can have their support backdated up to a maximum month - but only if the applicant had good cause for not applying earlier.

Apply for backdated Council Tax Support

You can apply for backdated Council Tax Support when submitting your application. There is a question on the form about backdating.

Alternatively you can fill in and send us this CTS Backdate Statement.

Change of circumstances

If your circumstances have changed and you think your discount is wrong

Fill in a ‘change in circumstances’ form

or email benefits@camden.gov.uk.

If you’re struggling with council tax arrears, call us on 020 7974 6414.

Council Tax Support Regulations (PDF)

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Council Tax Support

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