Low Income - Council Tax Reduction
Council Tax Reduction (CTR) is a scheme to help people on a low income pay their Council Tax Bill by reducing the amount they have to pay.
- Are you liable to pay a council tax bill?
- Are you on a low income?
- Do you have less than £6,000 in savings or less than £16,000 if you are a pensioner? This does not include those in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), Employment Support Allowance (Income Related) and Pension Credit Guarantee.
If the answer to all of these questions is yes, you can apply for Council Tax Reduction.
Apply For Council Tax Reduction
Exceptional Hardship Fund
The Exceptional Hardship Fund offers short-term help to customers who get Council Tax Reduction but who are struggling to pay their Council Tax liability.
The current Exceptional Hardship Fund has now been spent.
A new fund will be available from April 2023.
If you have already completed a claim, we will hold onto your details until April.
About the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (for working age customers only)
To read full details of our Council Tax Reduction scheme policy, please download a PDF copy here.
The income bands are set out as shown in the tables below:
Single Persons
| Council Tax Reduction Level | Single Person (Weekly income) | Single Person (Monthly Income) |
|---|---|---|
| Passported* | Relevant benefits | |
| Band 1 85% | £0.00 to £95.00 | £0.00 to £412.00 |
| Band 2 80% | £95.01 to £132.00 | £412.01 to £572.00 |
| Band 3 50% | £132.01 to £192.00 | £572.01 to £832.00 |
| Band 4 25% | £192.01 to £246.00 | £832.01 to £1,066.00 |
Couple
| Council Tax Reduction Level | Couple (no children) (Weekly income) | Couple (no children) (Monthly Income) |
|---|---|---|
| Passported* | Relevant benefits | |
| Band 1 85% | £0.00 to £138.00 | 0.00 to £598.00 |
| Band 2 80% | £138.01 to £180.00 | £598.01 to £780.00 |
| Band 3 50% | £180.01 to £240.00 | £780.01 to £1,040.00 |
| Band 4 25% | £240.01 up to £294.00 | £1,040.01 to £1,274.00 |
Families
| Council Tax Reduction Level | Family/ Single Person with 1 Child (Weekly income) | Family/ Single person with 1 Child (Monthly Income) |
|---|---|---|
| Passported* | Relevant benefits | |
| Band 1 85% | £0.00 to £220.00 | £0.00 to £953.00 |
| Band 2 80% | £220.01 to £282.00 | £953.01 to £1,222.00 |
| Band 3 50% | £282.01 to £342.00 | £1,222.01 to £1,482.00 |
| Band 4 25% | £342.01 to £396.00 | £1,482.01 to £2,080.00 |
| Council Tax Reduction Level | Family/ Single person with more than one child (Weekly income) | Family/ Single person with more than one child (Monthly Income) |
|---|---|---|
| Passported* | Relevant benefit | |
| Band 1 85% | £0.00 to £355.00 | £0.00 to £1,538.00 |
| Band 2 80% | £355.01 to £385.00 | £1,538.01 to £1,668.00 |
| Band 3 50% | £385.01 to £435.00 | £1,668.01 to £1,885.00 |
| Band 4 25% | £435.01 to £480.00 | £1,885.01 to £2,080.00 |
Passported refers to *those in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) and/or Employment Support Allowance (Income Related).
Key features of the banded scheme
- Anyone with savings in excess of £6,000 will not qualify. This does not include those in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance Income Based and Employment Support Allowance Income Related).
- There will be no deductions made for any non-dependents living in the household.
- The Council Tax Reduction will be limited to a Band D charge, this means if you live in a band E, F, G or H the maximum award you can receive will be 85% of a band D charge in the parish you live in.
- There will be no applicable amounts, instead working-age people will receive a % discount on either 85%, 80%, 50% or 25%, depending on the level of their income and the income band they fall into.
- Net earned income will be used in your calculation (gross minus tax, national insurance contributions and 50% of any pension contribution)
- For those working a standard earned income disregard of £25 will be applied
- For those in employment the standard childcare cost will be applied, up to £175 for one child and £300 for two or more.
- Backdating will be limited to 6 months and assessed on whether there is good cause to do so.
Self Employed
Minimum Income Floor (MIF) will be applied to people that have been self-employed for more than 12 months and earning less than the National Minimum Wage. The MIF is an assumed level of earnings based on what an employed person would expect to receive in similar circumstances.
There are two minimum wage rates applied into the system and deductions have been made for Tax and NI
The rates applied are as follows:
- £226.38 applied to single claimants and claimants living as part of a couple.
- £129.36 applied to lone parents
- If both members of a couple are self-employed and they have dependants under 16, one member will have £226.38 applied and the other £129.36, otherwise £226.38 will be applied to both.
- If claimant/partner receive employed earnings at the same time as self-employed earnings, the MIF rules will not apply
Universal Credit
For those in receipt of Universal credit the following will apply:
- Universal Credit (UC) - Where the UC payment is worked out based on wages, we will still take the wages into account minus the relevant earnings disregard.
- Deductions such as advance payments deducted from Universal Credit award will be added back and included as income.
- The housing element in your UC award will not be classed as income.
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