If you are working age, council tax support won't cover the whole of your council tax bill.
You must pay at least 10% of the bill, even if you get benefits or have a low income.
You won’t be able to get any council tax support if you or your partner have more than £6,000 in savings - unless either of you get income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, or income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
How we work out how much you'll get
We work out the maximum amount of council tax support you can get based on:
- you and your partner’s net income, and
- the number of children you have (up to a maximum of two).
Your net income means any money you get from:
- employment
- self-employment
- benefits
- other income, including any money you get from people who lodge with you.
We don’t include the following when we work out your net income (known as 'income disregards'):
- Carer’s Allowance
- Child Benefit
- child maintenance payments
- Disability Living Allowance
- pension contributions
- Personal Independence Payments
- Armed Forces Independence Payments
If you or your partner get:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
you will automatically be put in the highest band of the scheme and only pay 10% of your bill.
We look at your net income after disregarding the above benefits and work out which band your income falls into.
We also disregard £25 for all claimants as an incentive to work and a percentage level of council tax support will then be awarded to you based on the bands below.
Income bands and discounts
1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
| Band | Discount | Weekly income for single person | Weekly income for a couple | Weekly income for a family with 1 child | Weekly income for a family with 2+ children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90% | £0.00 to £114.40 | £0.00 to £154.40 | £0.00 to £204.40 | £0.00 to £254.40 |
| 2 | 75% | £114.41 to £171.60 | £154.41 to £211.60 | £204.41 to £261.60 | £254.41 to £311.60 |
| 3 | 60% | £171.61 to £228.80 | £211.61 to £268.80 | £261.61 to £318.80 | £311.60 to £368.80 |
| 4 | 45% | £228.81 to £286.00 | £268.81 to £326.00 | £318.81 to £376.00 | £368.81 to £426.00 |
| 5 | 30% | £286.01 to £343.20 | £326.01 to £383.20 | £376.01 to £433.20 | £426.01 to £483.20 |
1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
| Band | Discount | Weekly income for single person | Weekly income for a couple | Weekly income for a family with 1 child | Weekly income for a family with 2+ children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90% | £0.00 to £109.10 | £0.00 to £149.10 | £0.00 to £199.10 | £0.00 to £249.10 |
| 2 | 75% | £109.11 to £156.30 | £149.11 to £196.30 | £199.11 to £246.30 | £249.11 to £296.30 |
| 3 | 60% | £156.31 to £208.40 | £196.31 to £248.40 | £246.31 to £298.40 | £296.31 to £348.40 |
| 4 | 45% | £208.41 to £260.50 | £248.41 to £300.50 | £298.41 to £350.50 | £348.41 to £400.50 |
| 5 | 30% | £260.51 to £312.60 | £300.51 to £352.60 | £350.51 to £402.60 | £400.51 to £452.60 |
Other adults living in your home
If you have someone aged 18 or over living with you (that isn’t your partner), it will affect how much council tax support you get because they are expected to make a contribution towards your household expenses.
A standard deduction of £10 per week will be taken from your entitlement for each adult that is living with you (certain exceptions apply).
Universal Credit and council tax support
If you make a claim for Universal Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), please also make a claim for council tax support.
The DWP will let us know that you have claimed Universal Credit and we can then treat that as your claim date for council tax support, as long as you send us any other information we need within one calendar month of us writing to you.
If you're self-employed
The council tax support scheme has a minimum income of 35 hours a week for people who have been self-employed for over a year. This means that if you work for less than 35 hours a week, we assume you earn at least National Living Wage for 35 hours per week.
Income disregards
Income disregards are incomes that you get that are ignored by us when we work out how much council tax support to pay you.
If you get Carer’s Allowance, it will show on your award breakdown that we have taken this off you, but we have added it back in as an income disregard equal to the amount of the weekly award - £76.75 from April 2023 and £81.90 from April 2024.
If your circumstances change
You need to tell us straight away if your circumstances change.
If your household income goes up or down slightly, it might not affect the amount of council tax support you get.
You can look at the income bands above and check if your new income changes the part of the table that you are currently in. Even if it doesn’t, you still need to let us know about your change.
Extra help towards your council tax
If you get council tax support but still can’t afford to pay your council tax, you can apply for an exceptional hardship award.
An award is not guaranteed, and is looked at based on your individual circumstances. If your application is successful then you will get extra help based on your individual needs.
This will not be forever - you will need to work with us and other agencies to get help and support to improve your financial position.
We recognise the importance of protecting our most vulnerable customers. This fund is in place to make sure that we protect and support those most in need.