Council Tax Discounts

Council Tax Discounts
Council Tax bills generally assume that there are two or more adults living in a property. However there are a range of discounts available as follows:

Single Person Discount (25%)
The full council tax bill is based on two adults living in a property as their main home. If only one adult lives there as their main home, the bill is reduced by 25 per cent. To apply for your single person discount fill in the single person discount application form which is available in the online forms section on the left of this page.

It is important that if your circumstances change and you are no longer a single occupier you tell us as soon as possible, you can use the online form. If you are late to inform us, we will backdate any change to when it happened. We check all accounts with a discount, matching the list of occupiers with those held by other agencies.
If you are only away from your home for a short period, intend to return to your property, and still keep your belongings in the property, it will still be classed as your main residence. Any remaining occupiers would not be entitled to a discount.

Members of the armed forces
Unfortunately we would be unable to grant a discount at the property if one of the occupiers is away in the armed forces. This is because the house would still be classed as their main residence for taxation purposes. This applies to all those in the armed forces throughout the country and is in accordance with the government guidelines.
However, all armed forces personnel deployed on operations overseas, who normally pay council tax, will now benefit from a tax-free payment on the cost of council tax paid directly by the Ministry of Defence.

Long-Term Empty Discount (50%)
If the property is unfurnished and it is no-ones sole or main residence.

Prescribed Class A Discount (10%)
Properties that are furnished, no-one's sole or main residence and which people are not allowed to live in for at least 28 continuous days in a row each year.

Prescribed Class B Discount (10%)
Properties that are furnished, no-one's sole or main residence and which people are allowed to live in for at least 28 days in a row each year. These include second homes and furnished properties which are available for let.

Discount Disregards
When we are working out how many people live in a property, we do not count the following groups of people:

• Patients resident in hospital
• People who are being looked after in care homes
• People who are severely mentally impaired
• People staying in certain hostels and night shelters
• 18/19 year olds who are at or have just left school
• Care workers working for low pay, usually for charities
• People caring for someone with a disability who is not a spouse, partner, or child under 18
• Members of visiting forces and certain international institutions
• Members of religious communities (e.g. monks and nuns)
• People in prison (except for non payment of Council Tax or a fine)
• Non-British spouses of students
• People with diplomatic immunity
• Full time students, student nurses, apprentices and youth training trainees.

If you are on your own in a property and one of the discount disregards above applies to you, then you will be given a 50% discount.

If all the people in a property are not counted then a 50% discount will be given. However if all the people in the property are either full-time students or severely mentally impaired the property will be exempt from paying any Council Tax.

Second Homes
If a property is no one's sole or main residence and also furnished, then there will be a 10% discount off the full Council Tax bill. If the property is unfurnished then it will be exempt from Council Tax for the first 6 months. After 6 months you will have to pay 50% of the Council Tax.

If you wish to claim a Discount please complete our Query Form, giving us full details of your circumstances. We may need to contact you requesting further information.