If you wish to claim a reduction in your Council Tax bill, please go to Council Tax - Online Forms.
The full Council Tax bill assumes that there are 2 adults (aged 18 or over) living in a dwelling
Some people are not counted (‘disregarded’) when working out how many people live in a property. This means you might be able to apply for a discount on your Council Tax bill if you get one.
You need to apply for a Council Tax discount or an exemption, even if you’re disregarded.
- you’ll get 50% off your bill if everyone living in your household is disregarded
- you’ll get 25% off your bill if you pay Council Tax and either:
- you live on your own
- everyone else in your home is disregarded
More information on discounts, disregards and exemptions can be found below:
- 18 and 19 year olds still entitled to Child Benefit
- Annexes
- Carers
- Diplomats, Visiting Forces and Members of International Headquarters and Defence Organisations
- Disabled Persons Reduction
- Local Council Tax Reduction
- Members of religious communities
- People living in hospitals or residential care homes
- People living in hostels or night shelters
- People who are detained
- People who are severely mentally impaired
- School and college leavers
- Single Person Discount
- Students
Exemptions
Some properties are exempt from Council Tax.
This includes properties that are lived in by:
- full time students
- severely mentally impaired people
- a foreign diplomat who would normally have to pay council tax
- people who are under 18
- members of a visiting force who would normally have to pay Council Tax
- elderly or disabled relatives who live in annexes and self contained accommodation
It also includes unoccupied properties which:
- are owned by a charity (time limit of up to 6 months, after which there is a 100% charge)
- are left empty by patients in hospitals or care homes
- are left empty by persons in detention
- are left empty by someone who has moved so they can care for someone else
- are left empty by a deceased person (time limit for up to 6 months after probate is granted, after which there is a 100% charge)
- have been repossessed
- are the responsibility of a bankrupt's trustee
- are waiting for a minister of religion to move in
- are left empty by a student whose term time address is elsewhere
- are unfit for habitation (where occupation is prohibited by law)
- form part of another property which cannot be let separately
- are not furnished and need structural alteration or major repair work to render it habitable (up to 31 March 2024, qualifying properties will attract a 100% discount - from 1 April 2024, the discount is 0%)
- are a caravan pitch or houseboat mooring that does not have a caravan or boat on