About Council Tax Reduction
Council Tax Reduction helps people on a low income, in or out of work, or in receipt of state benefits. The amount you can receive depends on your income and circumstances and is shown as a discount on your Council Tax rather than being paid as a benefit.
A set percentage reduction may be awarded based on your weekly income, any capital held and your household, allowing for a maximum of 2 children.
Anyone with savings above £16,000 will not qualify.
You can claim it in addition to any discounts you may be eligible for. Please check our discounts and exemptions pages to see if you qualify for any other reductions to your Council Tax bill.
Pension age people
The Government has set the rules we must use to calculate Council Tax Reduction for applicants of pension credit age.
This includes Second Adult rebate which is help with their Council Tax for people of State Pension Credit age who may not have a partner but share their home with someone who is over 18, on a low income and does not pay them rent.
Working age people
From 1st April 2024 under this scheme working age applicants will receive a discount of 100%, 60%, 40%, 20% or no discount, depending on the level of their income, any capital held and their household, allowing for a maximum of 2 children.
The income bands are set out in the table below:
Band | Discount | Single (Income Level) | Couple (Income Level) | +1 Child (Income Level) | 2 or more children (Income Level) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 100% | £0 – £117.56 | £0 – £167.07 | £0 – £228.96 | £0 – £290.84 |
2 | 60% | £117.57 – £179.44 | £167.08 -£228.96 | £228.97 – £290.84 | £290.85 -£352.72 |
3 | 40% | £179.45 – £241.33 | £228.97-£290.84 | £290.85 – £352.72 | £352.73 – £414.62 |
4 | 20% | £241.34 – £303.24 | £290.85 – £352.72 | £352.73 – £414.62 | £414.63 – £476.51 |
The basics of the scheme for working age people are:
Those receiving a passported benefit – i.e. Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based) or Employment and Support Allowance (income-related) will automatically be placed into Band 1 (ie 100% discount).
The income ranges above are net weekly amounts.
Net income means once income tax, national insurance and half of any personal pension is deducted from a person’s earnings.
Examples of income are earnings, self-employed earnings, tax credits, pensions, student grants/loans, Jobseeker’s Allowance (contributions), Employment and Support Allowance (contributions).
Self Employed income will be calculated using the UK minimum wage as a Minimum Income Floor (MIF) when calculating any entitlement. This means the council will assume a Gross Weekly Income of at least the minimum wage multiplied by 35 hours. If you receive a disability benefit or are a lone parent then a gross weekly income of the minimum wage multiplied by 16 hours will be assumed. If you have caring responsibilities or you are in paid employment as well as self-employment, this will be taken into consideration when calculating the minimum income floor.
To support incentives to work, £25 per week will be disregarded from the applicant’s net earnings and only one disregard shall be applied per claim.
When calculating income from Universal Credit the following elements are disregarded in full; housing element, disabled child element, limited capability for work element, carer element.
Income from Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Armed Forces Independence Payments, Child Benefit, Child Maintenance, and War Disablement Benefits will continue to be disregarded when calculating Council Tax Reduction.
Carer’s Allowance will also be disregarded in full.
Extra amounts may be disregarded from your income if someone in your family is disabled and in receipt of a disability benefit.
Anyone with savings above £16,000 will not qualify.
How much Council Tax Reduction can I get?
When we receive an application for Council Tax Reduction (sometimes this is a combined application for housing benefit as well), we will look at your circumstances and see whether you are eligible and, if so, how much Reduction you should be paid.
If we require further details or the form is not complete we will contact you.
The factors, which affect how much you will get, include:
- money you and your partner have coming in, including earnings, most benefits and tax credits and things like occupational pensions
- yours and your partner’s savings
- your circumstances, such as your age, the ages and size of your family, whether you or any of your family are disabled
If you disagree with our decision you can request a reconsideration.
How do I claim Council Tax Reduction?
It is a joint Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction application form.
You can complete the online form by clicking below. Please note the easiest way to complete this online form is by using a tablet, PC or laptop.
If you are already in receipt of Universal Credit or have recently made a claim for Universal Credit, please complete the online form below in order to claim Council Tax Reduction. You will also need to complete this form in order to re-apply if your entitlement to Council Tax Reduction ends as a result of an adjustment in your Universal Credit award.
Do not delay submitting the form to us as you may lose the Reduction to which you are entitled.
If you have any questions about your application or you are having difficulties completing the form please contact us:
Benefits Department
Rother District Council
Post Handling Service
PO Box 10665
Nottingham
NG6 6DZ
Tel: 01424 787000
Email: revenuesandbenefits@rother.gov.uk
Please note: If you contact us by email please make sure the email contains your full name, address and account number, in order for us to be able to respond.
Exceptional Hardship
The Council have an Exceptional Hardship scheme to ensure that a level of protection and support is available to those applicants most in need. It should be noted however that the Exceptional Hardship Fund is intended to help in cases of extreme financial hardship only. Whilst the definition of ‘Exceptional Hardship’ is not defined by our policy, it is accepted that changes to the level of support available through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme will increase pressure on household budgets but this, in itself, does not necessarily constitute extreme hardship.
There is no statutory right to payments from the fund as its operation will be at the total discretion of the Council. All applicants will be expected to engage with the Council and undertake the full application process. Failure to do so will inevitably mean that no payment will be made.
You can complete the online form by clicking below. Please note the easiest way to complete this online form is by using a tablet, PC or laptop.