Reducing your council tax bill

There are several circumstances when the property itself is exempted from council tax altogether.  Amongst these are:

• If the only people living in the property have a severe mental impairment (Class U). This can include someone living with dementia.
• If the property is unoccupied because the resident has moved somewhere else to receive personal care (Class I)
• If the property is unoccupied because the resident has moved somewhere else to provide personal care to someone because of old age or disability (Class J)

You can ask your local council tax authority for an exemption if you think the property qualifies.

Exemptions can be back-dated to the date the exemption conditions were first in place. 

If the property is not exempt, then there are three ways in which you might get money off your council tax bill.  

You can apply for all three if you qualify for each of them.  Your local council tax authority will have more information on their website.

Each local authority in England and Wales must have a council tax reduction scheme (often called “council tax support”) in place.

In Scotland, there is a single system. 

Each scheme will be different, but they are means-tested to assess if some or all the council tax bill can be discounted.  It is for people on a low income, whose capital is less than £16,000.  

If you (and your partner if you have one) are over state pension age, then the rules, including the maximum capital figure, are more generous and are set nationally.

The application is made to the local council tax authority, which may have an online form for this.

A disability reduction scheme allows your council tax bill to be lowered to that of the Band below your actual Band.  If your home is already on the lowest Band, then the bill would be reduced by one-sixth.  

You qualify for this if someone lives in the home who is “substantially and permanently disabled” and:

• they need an additional bathroom or kitchen because of their disability, or
• there is enough space inside the home for the person to use their wheelchair, or
• there is another room, other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet, that the person needs and predominantly uses because of their disability

It is the person liable for the council tax, even if they are not the person with the disability, who must make the application to their council tax authority. There may be an online form or one you can print off. 

Council tax bills are drawn up on the assumption that there are at least two adults living in a property.  If there is only one adult, then a 25% single occupancy deduction is made.

For council tax purposes, some adults, such as students, are disregarded. This means they are not counted when looking at how many adults there are in the property. 

If, by ignoring those disregarded adults, the number of adults is reduced to one or none then the council tax bill will be reduced by 25% or 50%.

If the only people living in the property have a severe mental impairment, then the dwelling is exempt of all council tax.

People who are “severely mentally impaired” (SMI) are disregarded for council tax.  The person must be in receipt of one of the disability benefits (such as Attendance Allowance) and a doctor must sign a certificate confirming the severe mental impairment. 

This confirmation may not be given on a diagnosis of dementia alone, but on how much the individual is affected by their dementia at the time. 

If you are not sure whether to apply you could have a chat with your GP or mental health team.

Some carers can also be disregarded.  To be disregarded a carer must:

• provide at least 35 hours a week of care
• live in the same dwelling as the person needing the care
• not be the spouse or partner of the person needing the care.

The person needing the care must be receiving one of the disability benefits.

For more details and for application forms contact your local council tax authority.