There are several ways that you can get your Council Tax reduced.

• If you live alone (or are counted as living alone) your bill will be cut by 25 per cent.
• If you are disabled and your house meets certain conditions your Council Tax can be reduced.
• If you are on a low income you may be able to claim Council Tax Benefit, which is paid by reducing the amount of Council Tax you have to pay.
• If another adult lives with you and they are on a low income you may be able to claim Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit (also known as Second Adult Rebate)

Who do you live with?

Where two or more adults live in a dwelling, the full Council Tax normally has to be paid. Where only one adult lives in the dwelling there is a 25 per cent discount. If you live alone, or with one of the people listed on page 12, who are not counted, tell the council so you get your 25 per cent discount.

When counting the number of adults in a dwelling, some adults are not counted at all. People who are not counted include:

• people under 18;
• people aged 18–19 and in full time education or in between school and higher education;
• full time students, student nurses, apprentices, and young people on youth training;
• people in hospital or in care homes;
• people in prison (except for non payment of Council Tax);
• people who have severe learning difficulties and get one of a number of disability benefits including Incapacity Benefit (Employment and Support Allowance), Severe Disablement Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, and Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate;
• people caring for someone who is disabled and who gets either the higher rate of Attendance Allowance or the highest rate of Disability Living Allowance care component, but
  – the disabled person must not be the carer’s spouse or partner or their own child under 18; and
  – the carer must live with the disabled person and give at least 35 hours of support a week; and
• monks, nuns and those staying in certain overnight shelters for the homeless.

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If none of the adult residents living in the property are counted, the Council Tax is reduced by 50 per cent. But no Council Tax is due if:

• everyone living in the dwelling is a student or is aged less than 18; or
• everyone living in the dwelling has severe learning difficulties; or
• a mixture of both: for example, someone with severe learning difficulties and a student or someone aged under 18 acting as a live in carer.
  

Example Mathilda Morris has lived alone in her house since her husband Stan died. She gets a 25 per cent discount on her Council Tax bill. Her cousin Angelina returns from abroad and Mathilda says she can come and live in her spare room. From the time Angelina arrives, Mathilda’s Council Tax goes up to the full 100 per cent rate, but it is still Mathilda who has to pay the tax, not her cousin. When Mathilda explains this to her cousin, she offers to pay the extra to Mathilda. After a few months Angelina starts a course at a college and is counted as a student. Mathilda tells the council and her 25 per cent rebate is reinstated from the start of Angelina’s course.

Disabled people

There are special rules if a disabled person lives in a dwelling. The property should be moved down one valuation band if:

• there is a second bathroom or kitchen which has been adapted for use by a disabled person
• there is an extra room which is mainly used for a disabled person’s particular needs: for example, a room for kidney dialysis; or
• there is extra space inside to allow a disabled person to move around in a wheelchair.
  

An extra room does not need to have been specially built, but simply rearranging rooms (for example, having a bedroom on the ground floor rather than the first floor) is unlikely to make your home eligible for a reduction.

If the property is already in band A, the Council Tax will be reduced by one sixth. Contact your local council for more information on how to apply for a disability reduction in your Council Tax.

Council Tax benefit

People with a low income and savings may be able to get help with their Council Tax through Council Tax Benefit. This is paid by reducing the amount of Council Tax you have to pay. If you get the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit or have a very low income, you will get full Council Tax Benefit. This means you won’t have to pay any Council Tax at all. Further details are given in our free advice leaflet, Can You Claim It?. But if you have a low income and less than £16,000 in savings, then you should apply to your local council for Council Tax Benefit.

Alternative maximum Council Tax benefit

There is also a special Council Tax Benefit which can be paid in some cases even if your income or savings are too high to get the normal Council Tax Benefit. This special benefit is called Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit (or second adult rebate). You can get it if you are single and have someone living in your home who meets all the following conditions:

• is aged 18 or more;
• is your non-dependant (an adult who lives with you and shares your house, i.e doesn’t just share a bathroom or communal area);
• is not paying you rent;
• is not in one of the disregarded groups for council tax discount (people who are severely mentally impaired, carers, people in a hospital or care home, young people, students, student nurses, trainees and apprentices);
  

If you are in a couple you are only eligible if either you or your partner is in one of the disregarded groups for council tax discount. These groups are people who are severely mentally impaired, carers, people in a hospital or care home, young people, students, student nurses, trainees and apprentices.

Or, if there are more than two adults living in your home, at least one of them must be in one of the is regarded groups for council tax discount (see above).

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If the person living with you gets any Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, then you get a rebate of 25 per cent on your Council Tax.

If their gross weekly income, before tax is deducted, is less than £175 then you get a rebate of 15 per cent.

If their gross weekly income is less than £227.99 (but more than £175) then you get a rebate of 7.5 per cent.

If their gross weekly income is £227.99 or more, then no Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit is payable.

Any savings they have don’t count, but any interest on their savings (before tax is deducted) counts as part of their income. Any Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance they get is ignored when calculating their gross income. The rebate applies to the Council Tax due for each day they are living with you and fulfil the conditions.

If you have more than one person living with you (such as two grown up children) and they all meet the conditions listed above, then you may still get the Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit. The rules are similar to those if you have just one person living with you. If their incomes added together (ignoring any Pension Credit, Income Support or income based Jobseeker’s Allowance) are less than £175, then you get a 15 per cent rebate, and if their incomes added together are less than £227.99, then you get a 7.5 per cent rebate. If everyone living with you is on Pension Credit, Income Support or income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, then you get the 25 per cent rebate.

The rules about Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit are complicated. But if you think you may be eligible get some advice or put in a claim to your local council. The council will not give you the rebate unless you apply for it. Ask for a claim form for Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit. It may be the same form as for normal Council Tax Benefit. It can be backdated up to a year in some cases.

You can’t receive both Council Tax Benefit and Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit; if you would be eligible for both, then the council should award you the one which leaves you better off. For further advice on Alternative Maximum Council Tax Benefit call SeniorLine, on 0808 800 65 65.