Council Tax Reduction - discount for those on a low income

Council Tax Reduction can reduce your Council Tax bill if you are on a low income.

Council Tax Reduction is available to both homeowners and tenants in all Council Tax bands. The amount of Council Tax Reduction you will get depends on the amount of Council Tax you have to pay, the amount of money you have coming in and the number of people in your household. Council Tax Reduction can reduce your Council Tax bill to zero, although you will still need to pay your Water and Wastewater charges. If your savings and investments are more than £16,000, you will not be entitled to Council Tax Reduction unless you are in receipt of Guarantee Credit.

We may contact you by SMS text message promoting Council Tax Reduction and to check your eligibility using our online calculator.

You can check if you are entitled to Council Tax Reduction by using our calculator, it’s easy to use and should only take 10-15 minutes to complete.

You can apply for Council Tax Reduction online. If you don't qualify for the Council Tax Reduction but have a second adult over the age of 18 living with you who is not your partner and is on a low income,you can apply for a Second Adult Reduction.

All the evidence we need to support your claim can be submitted electronically, either when you apply or afterwards using our online form. We may ask to see original documents if we need them.

If you have recently applied for benefit with the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) they will ask if you want to apply for Council Tax Reduction. If you have said you do the DWP may pass this information to us but you still need to apply directly to us.

Backdating

Your entitlement will usually start on the Monday after the date we receive your application. We can consider a request to backdate your application to an earlier date if you have good reason. You should explain this in your application.

Appealing a decision on Council Tax Reduction

If you don't agree with our decision you can ask us to look at it again. This must be done in writing within 2 months of our original decision.

Reporting changes

It is really important that you tell us straight away if your circumstances change. Important information on the types of changes you need to tell us about are on our Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction - change of circumstance. Changes may mean you are entitled to a higher or lower reduction.