Council Tax discounts and exemptions

You might be entitled to a reduction in your Council Tax, or be exempt from paying Council Tax.

Discounts and property exemptions

You might be entitled to a reduction in your Council Tax or be exempt from paying Council Tax completely.

Some properties are exempt from Council Tax, this means you don’t need to pay Council Tax on the property.

Some properties have a reduced Council Tax bill because they have been adapted for a disabled person. This is known as the Disability Band Reduction Scheme.

A Council Tax bill is based on at least two adults living in a home.

If you’re a single person or treated as a single person living in a property (due to disregards) you may be entitled to a 25% discount.

Some people aren’t counted (disregarded) when working out how many people live in a property including those:

  • Under 18
  • On certain apprenticeship schemes
  • Aged 18 or 19 years old and in full-time education
  • Full-time students at college or university
  • Severely mentally impaired
  • Live in carers for people who aren’t their partner, spouse or child under 18. You can claim a carer’s discount here.

Care Leavers are automatically disregarded for Council Tax purposes on referral from the Target Leaving Care team.

If you already have a discount, you must let us know of any change of circumstances that affects your entitlement. If you fail to do so, you may have to pay a penalty.  To let us know of a change you can report it here.

Apply for a Severe Mental Impairment Discount

To apply for a Severe Mental Impairment Discount, please use the form below:

You might be able to apply for a discount on your Council Tax bill if you or someone you live with is severely mentally impaired.

You’ll need to:

  • get a certificate to say you’re severely mentally impaired from a medical professional, such as your GP
  • prove your eligibility for certain ill health or disability benefits

You’ll get a 100% discount if you qualify as severely mentally impaired and one of the following applies:

  • you live on your own
  • any other adults in your household either qualify as severely mentally impaired or are full-time students

You’ll get a 50% discount if you qualify as severely mentally impaired and everyone else in your household is disregarded for other reasons.

You’ll get a 25% discount if you live with someone who qualifies as severely mentally impaired and either:

  • there are no other adults in your household apart from you
  • everyone else in your home is disregarded apart from you

If you’re unable to download and print the form, please call 01642 774774 to request a copy in the post.