What is council tax support and how to claim it

Council Tax support can help if you have little or no income to pay your Council Tax. We will not pay money to you but we will credit your Council Tax account. This will reduce the amount you have to pay.

Council Tax support is means-tested so the amount of Council Tax you pay will depend on your income.

If you are of working age, Council Tax support is a maximum of 75.5%. This means if your annual Council Tax bill is £1,000, you could get up to £755 Council Tax support. The scheme will provide 100% protection to pensioners.

If you are working age you will have to make a contribution towards your Council Tax bill.

You cannot claim Council Tax support if you or your partner:

• have more than £16,000 in combined savings
• are not liable to pay Council Tax
• are from abroad and are subject to immigration control

Your combined savings is the total amount of money you or your partner have in all of these:

• cash
• bank current accounts, deposit accounts and savings accounts
• National Savings accounts and certificates
• Giro bank accounts and building society accounts
• Post Office accounts
• ISA accounts and Premium Bonds
• shares and unit trusts
• equity of land and buildings

You can claim Council Tax support if you:

• are a part-time student
• are under the age of 20 in further education
• are of pensionable age
• are disabled
• are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance (income based) or Employment and Support Allowance (income related)
• have children
• have a non-student partner

Some students are exempt from paying Council Tax, or are eligible to receive a discount. You may also receive a discount if you have an adult student living with you.

You’ll need to log in to or register for MyAccount to apply for Council Tax support. MyAccount is a quick and safe way to manage your benefits online.

Once you’ve logged in to MyAccount you’ll need to choose Benefit services to apply for Council Tax support.

The application process will tell you if you are entitled and how much you might receive. Your benefit will usually start from the Monday after we receive your claim.

We’ll write to let you know how much you have been awarded and how we have worked it out. We’ll credit your Council Tax account with the total amount awarded and you will receive a new Council Tax bill showing the revised amount.

If your circumstances change and there is an overpayment, your Council Tax account will be amended and you will receive a new Council Tax bill.