Call waiting times
We are currently experiencing a high number of calls to our Customer Service Centre.
In the first instance, please search the website to check whether your reason for calling could be resolved online.
Thank you.
Council tax reduction
You may be eligible for a council tax reduction to assist with your council tax payments. If you are receiving Universal Credit, you can still apply for a reduction.
There are two council tax reduction schemes available:
- National Scheme: This is designed for residents who are of pensionable age
- Local Scheme: This applies to residents who are of working age
View our council tax reduction scheme for residents of working age
IMPORTANT
Our council tax reduction (CTR) scheme for people of working age switches to a banded discount system from 1 April 2026.
You must apply for council tax reduction, with discounts of 100 per cent, 75 per cent, 50 per cent and 25 per cent available, depending on your level of income and the income 'band' you qualify for (please note - your level of income may disqualify you from receiving a discount).
Applicants with savings of more than £6,000 do not qualify for council tax reduction.
Recipients of 'passported' benefits - Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based) or the Employment and Support Allowance (income-related) - qualify for a 100 per cent discount.
The discount bands in the table below refer to net weekly income:
| Discount | Single income | Couple income | Single with one child | Couple with one child | Single with two children | Couple with two children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 - 100 per cent | £0.00 to £125.00 | £0.00 to £175.00 | £0.00 to £225.00 | £0.00 to £225.00 | £0.00 to £325.00 | £0.00 to £325.00 |
| Band 2 - 75 per cent | £125.01 to £175.00 | £175.01 to £225.00 | £225.01 to £275.00 | £225.01 to £275.00 | £325.01 to £375.00 | £325.01 to £375.00 |
| Band 3 - 50 per cent | £175.01 to £225.00 | £225.01 to £275.00 | £275.01 to £325.00 | £275.01 to £325.00 | £375.01 to £425.00 | £375.01 to £425.00 |
| Band 4 - 25 per cent | £225.01 to £275.00 | £275.01 to £325.00 | £325.01 to £375.00 | £325.01 to £375.00 | £425.01 to £475.00 | £425.01 to £475.00 |
| Band 5 - 0 per cent | £275.01 or more | £325.01 or more | £375.01 or more | £375.01 or more | £475.01 or more | £475.01 or more |
Examples of income
- earnings
- self-employed earnings
- pensions
- student grants/loans
- Jobseeker's Allowance (contributions-based)
- Employment and Support Allowance (contributions-based)
- Universal Credit standard allowance and child element
Important information
When calculating CTR, we use net weekly income (income you're left with after Income Tax, National Insurance and 50 per cent of any personal pension have been deducted).
- to support incentives to work, we disregard £25 per week from net earnings and only apply one disregard per claim
- to support disabled applicants, we disregard an extra £50 per week when a claimant or partner receive any disability benefits
- we disregard income from the Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Armed Forces Independent Payments, Child Benefit, Child Maintenance and war disablement benefits
- we disregard the Carer's Allowance and the support component of the Employment and Support Allowance in full
- we disregard the following elements of Universal Credit - carers element, disabled child element, the limited capability for work element and the housing element
- the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) applies to most self-employed claimants, which means if you have been self-employed for 12 months or longer, we calculate your earnings using the National Minimum Wage for your age group. If you earn more than the calculated amount, we assume your self-employment income to be under the MIF and we calculate your income by your actual amount of earnings