Council Tax Benefit
Last updated June 2005
- What is it?
- Can I get it?
- What else should I know?
- Second Adult Rebate
- What is it?
- Can I get it?
- What else should I know?
- How much will I get?
- How do I claim?
- You can download a Council Tax Benefit claim form
- If you disagree with a decision
- I am already getting it. What happens if:
- I go into hospital or someone I claim for goes into hospital?
- I go to live abroad or visit?
- I am part of a service family living abroad or visiting?
- If I start work but my sickness or disability means I have to stop again?
- I start voluntary work?
- I go into a care home?
- More information
- Other help
- Other languages
This benefit is dealt with by your local council.
What is it?
- Help towards your council tax, whether you rent or own your home, or live rent-free
- Paid by local councils as a rebate on your council tax bill
- You do not have to get any other benefits
- It does not matter if you already get a discount on your council tax, for example if you live alone.
Can I get it?
Are you:
- On a low income?
- Paying council tax?
If YES to both, claim Council Tax Benefit.
What else should I know?
If you have recently come to Great Britain, please first check extra rules if you have come from abroad
Unless you are aged 60 or over and receive the guarantee credit of Pension Credit, savings over £16,000 usually mean you cannot get Council Tax Benefit.
Savings over £3,000 (£6,000 if you or your partner are aged 60 or over) affect how much Council Tax Benefit you can get.
If you have come to the United Kingdom (UK) within 2 years of your claim, this may affect Council Tax Benefit.
If you are a full-time student you will not usually have to pay council tax.
If your partner is a student you may be able to get Council Tax Benefit.
Most asylum seekers and people who are sponsored to be in the UK cannot get Council Tax Benefit.
We use partner to mean a person you are married to or a person you live with as if you are married to them.
Second adult rebate
What is it?
Help if you share your home with one adult or more who cannot pay towards the council tax. The person who shares your home must not be your partner.
We use partner to mean a person you are married to or a person you live with as if you are married to them.
Can I get it?
Is the person who shares your home:
- Aged 18 or over?
- Not paying you rent?
- Not paying Council Tax themselves?
- On a low income?
If YES to all, claim Second Adult Rebate.
What else should I know?
You may be able to get Second Adult Rebate even if you do not normally get Council Tax Benefit.
If you already get Council Tax Benefit you will not need to claim Second Adult Rebate.
Second Adult Rebate will be based on the other person's circumstances.
Your income and savings will not affect Second Adult Rebate.
If you are entitled to Council Tax Benefit and Second Adult Rebate, you will get the one which gives you most money.
How much will I get?
To work out your Council Tax Benefit, the council will look at:
- Money you and your partner have coming in, including earnings, some benefits and tax credits and things like occupational pensions
- Your savings and your partner's savings
- Your circumstances, such as your age, the ages and size of your family, whether you or any of your family are disabled, and whether anyone who lives with you could help with the rent.
The most Council Tax Benefit you can get is the full council tax you have to pay. There are special rules for students.
The rates used to work out your Council Tax Benefit are generally the same as the allowance and premiums that make up Pension Credit, Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). There are a few exceptions listed below.
Only use the amounts shown as a guide. The rules for benefits mean that your individual circumstances may affect the amount you get. This means you will not always be able to work out exactly how much you will get by using these amounts.
Weekly amounts:
Deductions for non-dependants |
|
|---|---|
Receiving Income Support, income-based JSA or Pension Credit |
no deduction |
In remunerative work and |
|
Gross weekly income less than £150.00 |
£2.30 |
Gross weekly income from £150.00 to £257.99 |
£4.60 |
Gross weekly income from £258.00 to £321.99 |
£5.80 |
Gross weekly income £322.00 and over |
£6.95 |
Others aged 18 or over and not in renumerative work |
£2.30 |
Second Adult Rebate |
Amount off council tax bill |
Rebate for second adults on Income Support, |
25% |
Second adult's gross weekly income less than £150.00 |
15% |
Second adult's gross weekly income from £150.00 to £193.99 |
7.5% |
Premium for people with preserved rights |
|
Family (lone parent rate) |
£22.20 |
How do I claim?
Claim straight away. If you delay you may lose benefit.
You can claim up to 13 weeks before you become entitled to Council Tax Benefit. So, if you know you are moving to a new address soon, you can claim Council Tax Benefit, although this would not be awarded until you move in.
If you move to a new address, or other circumstances change, you should tell your council straight away. You may need to make a fresh claim for Council Tax Benefit.
- If you claim Pension Credit, Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance you will get a form to claim Council Tax Benefit with your claim pack. Complete and return this form to your local council.
- If you do not claim Pension Credit, Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance you can get a form for Council Tax Benefit from your local council.
You can find the address of your local council in the business numbers section of the phone book. Look under the name of your County Council, Borough Council, City Council, or in some areas, new Unitary Authority or London Borough. If you live in Scotland look under the name of your Regional or Island Council.
It is important that we can be sure of your identity when you make a claim. We may need to ask you about your background and look at any official documents you have to support the information you give.
You can download a Council Tax Benefit claim form
You can download a Council Tax Benefit claim form in PDF format. Please note that this form does not apply in Northern Ireland.
You can download documents marked with a 
using Adobe Reader - available free of charge.
If you have problems accessing PDF documents, Adobe provide an online tool to convert PDFs to text.
The form comes with notes that will help you fill in the form and tell you where to send the completed form.
If you are having technical difficulties:
- downloading the form
- printing a hard copy
Please contact the eService Helpdesk.
If you disagree with a decision
If you have received a decision about Council Tax Benefit and think it is wrong you can:
- Ask the local council for the decision to be looked at again.
- Ask for an explanation of the decision.
- Ask for a statement of reasons.
- Appeal to an independent appeal tribunal administered by the Appeals Service.
If you want the council to look at the decision again, or if you want to appeal against it, you must do so within one month of the date on the decision letter.
I am already getting it. What happens if:
I go into hospital or someone I claim for goes into hospital?
You must tell your local council and if appropriate your local Jobcentre Plus, Jobcentre or social security office or The Pension Service as soon as you go into or come out of hospital. You must also tell them if someone you get benefit for goes into hospital. If you do not expect to be in hospital for more than a year, Council Tax Benefit may continue.
I go to live abroad or visit?
Most benefits are affected if you are going abroad. Let your local council and us know as soon as you can that you are going abroad. You can usually do this by contacting your local council and if appropriate your local Jobcentre Plus, Jobcentre or social security office or The Pension Service. You can get more information about social security agreements with other countries through this site.
I am part of a service family living abroad or visiting?
Contact your local council for advice and help.
If I start work but my sickness or disability means I have to stop again?
If you start work but have to stop within 52 weeks because of your sickness or disability, you may be able to go back onto Income Support at the same amount you got before you started working.
To be able to do this:
- You must have been sick for at least 28 weeks and
- You must have started work or training within 7 days of getting Income Support and
- Your other circumstances must still be the same.
You must let your local Jobcentre Plus office, Jobcentre or social security office know you have started work or training within one month of the date you start.
You cannot get protection if your benefit stopped because of a medical test.
I start voluntary work?
You must tell your local council about any kind of payment you get, including payment for voluntary work. This includes things that are sometimes called payment in kind, which could be something like meal vouchers. They may be able to ignore some of these payments when working out your benefit.
I go into a care home?
If you go into residential care permanently you cannot normally get Council Tax Benefit.
If your stay is temporary you may still be able to get Council Tax Benefit. Check with your local council.
More information
For more information or leaflets, get in touch with your local council, Jobcentre Plus, Jobcentre or social security office or The Pension Service.
Other help
Remember that this website is only a general guide to benefits and schemes, and is not a full and authoritative statement of the law. We have made every effort to ensure that the information on this website is correct at the date shown at the top of the page. However, changes in the law may make the website become gradually less accurate.
Other languages
The leaflet ‘Help with your council tax GL17’ is available in other languages.