Claiming Council Tax Benefit

You can claim Council Tax benefit if you are liable for Council Tax and are:

receiving Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.
working and on low pay (this includes people who are self employed).
on a low income. For example, you might only get a retirement pension or be getting other social security benefits, like Incapacity Benefit.

But, you cannot get Council Tax Benefit if:

you are a student.
you, or you and your partner between you, have more than £16,000 in savings (a partner is someone you are married to, or someone you live with as if you are married to them).

There are some exceptions.

There is no fixed upper capital limit for pensioners on Pension Credit, although capital is taken into account. For more information contact the Pension Service on 0845 3000 168.

Second Adult Rebate

Second Adult Rebate is not based on the money you have, but on the money other people who live with you have. These people, called 'non-dependants' could be someone like a relative or a friend, and you may be able to get Second Adult Rebate if they are on a low income or Income Support. You cannot claim it if you are married or have a partner.

Please note, you cannot get Council Tax Benefit and Second Adult Rebate at the same time. If you qualify for both, we will give you the one that reduces your Council Tax the most. To be classed as a second adult, the non-dependant must not be:

liable for Council Tax.
a joint owner or tenant with you.
your married or unmarried partner.
living with someone who is a joint tenant or owner-occupier with you.

This is a rebate that only takes account of the income received by 'second adults' in the property and you can claim it if even if you do not think you would get benefit based on your own income.

Please note that if you have a partner, you cannot claim Second Adult Rebate (unless your partner is disregarded for Council Tax purposes). Examples of disregarded persons are:

apprentices or youth trainees.
people for whom Child Benefit is still being paid.
people who suffer from severe mental impairment.
students or student nurses.

Please note that the maximum award of Second Adult Rebate is 25% of your Council Tax charge.

To see if you qualify, please refer to the Second Adult Rebate rates below:

Second Adult Rebate Rates 2012/13
For claimants with one second adult
If the second adult is in receipt of Income Support, Pension Credit, Income based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance.	25%
If the second adult is not in receipt of the above benefits and their gross income is under £180 per week (if any of the second adults are a couple, their income is added together).	15%
If the second adult is not in receipt of the above benefits and their gross income is between £180 and £235 per week (if any of the second adults are a couple, their income is added together).	7.5%
If the second adult is not in receipt of the above benefits and their gross income is £235 per week or more (if any of the second adults are a couple, their income is added together).	nil
For claimants with two or more second adults
If all the second adults are in receipt of Income Support, Pension Credit, Income based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance.	25%
If at least one of the second adults is not in receipt of the above benefits and the combined gross income of all the second adults is under £180 per week.	15%
If at least one of the second adults is not in receipt of the above benefits and the combined gross income of all the second adults is between £180 and £235 per week.	7.5%
If at least one of the second adults is not in receipt of the above benefits and the combined gross income of all the second adults is £235 per week or more.	nil

How Do I Claim?

If you claim another Social Security Benefit you will normally make a claim by telephone. At the same time you can make a claim for Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit if you are liable to pay rent.
If you are on a low income - You can claim by filling in one of our claim forms and giving us the proof we need to assess your claim. You can get the claim form from us. Please note: If you have difficulty making a claim because you are elderly or disabled, we may be able to visit you at home. Please contact us directly for help.

What proof do I need to give you?

When you make a claim for benefit we have to make sure that we are paying the right people. We will also ask for evidence of:

any occupational or private pensions.
wages - your last five weekly, or two monthly, payslips. We use these to work out your average pay, which is used in calculating your benefit entitlement.
if you are self employed you will have to complete our self employed form, and we may ask for a copy of your accounts.
if you are on a low income and not receiving other means tested benefits such as income support, we ask for the last two months statements for all bank accounts, with proof of all savings and investments.
we only accept original documents.

What if I haven't got all the proof you need?

You can send the information in later, but we cannot work out your benefit without it.

What should I do about my Council Tax bill while I'm waiting for you to work out my Council Tax benefit?

You should try to pay the instalments. But, if you are not able to pay, please contact your Council Tax office for advice.

What happens if there are other people living with me?

If you have friends, relatives or anyone over 18 living in your home, you may get less Council Tax benefit. These people are called 'non-dependants'. We may take an amount out of your benefit for each non-dependant who lives in your home.

How much Council Tax benefit can I get?

You may be able to get Council Tax benefit for the full amount of Council Tax you pay, but this depends on your income and whether you have other people living in your house.

How is my Council Tax benefit worked out?

If you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance (income related) or Guaranteed Pension Credit you will get the full amount of your Council Tax as benefit after we have taken off deductions for your non-dependants.

In all other cases, we work out your Council Tax benefit by comparing the money you get each week with your 'applicable amount'. Your applicable amount is what the Government says you and your family need to live on each week. The applicable amount will be higher for some people - for example, if you are disabled or if you are a one-parent family.

When we have worked out what money you get each week, if it's less than, or the same as, the applicable amount, you will get the full amount of Council Tax benefit. If this happens, you should claim Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance (income related) as you may get more help.

What money do you count when you work out my benefit?

We count any money you have coming in. This includes things like:

social security benefits.
spousal maintenance (but not maintenance for a child).
works pension.
take home wages.

We ignore some of your wages when we work out your benefit. We do not count the first:

£5 of the money you earn each week, if you are single.
£10 of the money you earn each week, if you are a couple.
£20 of the money you earn each week, if you are disabled.
£25 of the money you earn each week, if you are a single parent.

Sometimes, we ignore different amounts from other types of income and benefits.

For example we ignore any maintenance you receive for dependent children, and the first £15 of spousal maintenance.

We also ignore things like:

Disability Living Allowance.
Attendance Allowance.
Mobility Allowance.

But we will still need evidence that you get these and the amounts paid to you.

These are just a few examples.

There is no fixed upper capital limit for pensioners on Pension Credit Guarantee, although capital is taken into account. For more information contact the Pension Service on 01925 401754.

What happens if I have savings or investments?

That depends on how much you have; government rules say that if you and your partner if you are a couple have savings or investments of more than £16,000, you cannot get Council Tax benefit.

If you or your partner are under 60 and have between £6,000 and £16,000, it will affect how much Council Tax benefit you will get.

For every £250 (or part of £250) you have over £6,000, we add £1 to the money we count each week when working out your benefit. This is called 'tariff income'.

If you or your partner are over 60 and have £6,000 or less, it will not affect your claim.

If you or your partner are aged 60 or over, we will only use tariff income if you have between £6,000 and £16,000.

For every £500 (or part of £500) you have over £6,000, we add £1 to the money we count each week when working out your benefit.

How long will it take you to work out my claim?

That depends on how quickly you send in all the information and how busy we are when you make your claim. We will send you a letter telling you how we have worked out your Council Tax benefit or Second Adult Rebate

When will my benefit start?

If you qualify, your benefit will usually start from the Monday after we get your claim form. But, if you think your benefit should start earlier, you need to write to us and tell us: the date you think your benefit should start and the reason why you did not claim earlier. Please visit the backdating page for more information.

How will you pay me?

We will pay your Council Tax benefit straight to your Council Tax account. You will get a bill which shows the amount you have to pay after we have awarded the benefit.

What should I do if anything changes when I'm getting benefit?

You should tell us straightaway if your circumstances change. It might affect how much you get, and if you don't tell us you may lose benefit. If you don't tell us about a change and we pay you too much benefit, you may have to pay it back. You can find out more about change in circumstances.

What happens if you give me too much money

If we give you too much benefit or Second Adult Rebate, it is called an 'excess benefit'. If there is an excess benefit, we will send you a letter which tells you:

why we gave you too much benefit.
how much the excess benefit is.
if you have to pay back the amount.
how you can appeal if you think this is wrong.

In most cases we will send you a revised Council Tax bill, and you will usually have to pay more Council Tax. Please visit the overpayments section for more information.

What can I do if I don't agree with your decision?

If you don't agree with our decision, you can ask us to look at it again. Our letters tell you what your rights are. Please see the make an appeal page for more detailed information.

How to get in touch with us

Staff in our Benefits Department are happy to help with any query you have. You can reach us online, by email, post or telephone:

Or, you could contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau.