- Are you liable to pay a council tax bill?
- Does your income fall into the one of the income bands in the table below?
- Do you have less than £6,000 in savings or less than £16,000 if you are of pension age? This does not apply to those in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), Employment Support Allowance (Income Related) and Pension Credit Guarantee.
If the answer to all of these questions is Yes, you can claim Council Tax Reduction from the Council.
Please note only one claim is required per household.
Apply for Council Tax Reduction
Exceptional Hardship Fund
The Exceptional Hardship Fund offers short-term help to customers who get Council Tax Reduction but who are struggling to pay their Council Tax liability.
Apply to the exceptional hardship fund
About the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (for working age customers only)
To read full details of our Council Tax Reduction scheme policy, please download a PDF copy below:
The income bands are set out as shown in the table below:
| Council Tax Reduction Level | Single Person | Couple | Family with 1 child | Family with more than 1 child |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passported 85% | Relevant Benefit | Relevant Benefit | Relevant Benefit | Relevant Benefit |
| Band 1 85% | £0.00 to £100.00 | £0.00 to £145.00 | £0.00 to £225.00 | £0.00 to £360.00 |
| Band 2 80% | £100.01 to £137.00 | £145.01 to £185.00 | £225.01 to £287.00 | £360.01 to £391.00 |
| Band 3 50% | £137.01 to £197.00 | £185.01 to £245.00 | £287.01 to 347.00 | £391.01 to £442.00 |
| Band 4 25% | £197.01 to 251.00 | £245.01 to £299.00 | £347.01 to £401.00 | £442.01 to £485.00 |
Passported 85%* refers to those in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) and/or Employment Support Allowance (Income Related).
Key features of the banded scheme
- Anyone with savings in excess of £6,000 will not qualify. This does not include those in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) and Employment Support Allowance (Income Related).
- There will be no deductions made for any non-dependents living in the household.
- The Council Tax Reduction will be limited to a Band D charge, this means if you live in a band E, F, G or H the maximum award you can receive will be 85% of a band D charge in the parish you live in.
- There will be no applicable amounts, instead working-age people will receive a % discount on either 85%, 80%, 50% or 25%, depending on the level of their income and the income band they fall into.
- Net earned income will be used in your calculation (gross minus tax, national insurance contributions and 50% of any pension contribution)
- For those working, a standard earned income disregard of £25 will be applied
- For those in employment the standard childcare cost will be applied, up to £175 for one child and £300 for two or more.
- Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are not counted as income.
Universal Credit
For those in receipt of Universal credit the following will apply:
- Universal Credit (UC) - Where the UC payment is worked out based on wages, we will still take the wages into account minus the relevant earnings disregard.
- Deductions such as advance payments deducted from Universal Credit award will be added back and included as income.
- The housing element and the limited capability for work element in your UC award will not be used as income in the assessment of your Council Tax Reduction.