Overview
If you have to pay Council Tax and you are on a low income, you could get Council Tax Reduction (previously called Council Tax Support).
The rules depend on whether you are of working age or you have reached the age for state pension credit.
Background
On 1 April 2023, Mendip District Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset West and Taunton Council, South Somerset District Council, and Somerset County Council will merged into a single new Council called Somerset Council.
Previously, each district ran their own scheme. The creation of a single Somerset Council required a single unified approach to supporting taxpayers on low incomes to help pay their Council Tax.
Anyone already getting a Council Tax Reduction will not have to make a new claim. We will work out their new award from 1 April 2023. People who are adversely affected by the scheme may be eligible for help through an Exceptional Hardship Scheme.
Pensioners
We will work out your reduction using a scheme decided by the Government. We could reduce your bill by up to 100%.
If you don’t qualify for Council Tax Reduction in your own right, you could get second adult rebate. If the person who shares your home is:
- aged 18 or over
- not a boarder or sub-tenant
- not your spouse or partner
- not paying Council tax themselves
- on a low income
… you may be able to get a rebate of up to 25% of what you have to pay.
You can’t get Council Tax Reduction if you have more than £16,000 in capital or savings (unless you get pension guarantee credit).
People of working age
For working age people, we will work out your reduction using our local income band scheme. The amount of discount you get depends on your income and family make-up. Use the table below to work out which discount you could get.
| Band | Discount (%) | Single person | Single person with one child | Single person with two children | Couple with no children | Couple with one child | Couple with two children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | £0 – £95 | £0 – £160 | £0 – £220 | £0 – £140 | £0 – £200 | £0 – £260 |
| 2 | 75 | £95.01 – £155 | £160.01 – £220 | £220.01 – £290 | £140.01 – £210 | £200.01 – £260 | £260.01 – £330 |
| 3 | 40 | £155.01 – £190 | £220.01 -£255 | £290.01 – £370 | £210.01 – £260 | £260.01 – £295 | £330.01 – £410 |
| 4 | 25 | £190 – £235 | £255.01 – £290 | £370.01 – £480 | £260.01 – £310 | £295.01 – £330 | £410.01 – £520 |
When working out your weekly income, we will ignore:
- £25 a week from all earnings if you or your partner work
- £30 a week from all income if you, your partner or dependant child is disabled
- income from Carers Allowance, the support component of Employment and Support Allowance, Child Benefit, any Child Maintenance, war pensions and war disablement pensions;
- the amount of the housing element in your Universal Credit
If you get Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, you will fall into band 1 and get a 100% discount.
We will not reduce your discount for any non-dependants living with you.
You can’t get Council Tax Reduction if you have more than £6,000 in capital or savings.
Council Tax support fund
The government has distributed £100 million of new grant funding in 2023/24 for Councils to support vulnerable households in their area with Council Tax bills.
We have used most of our funding allocation to reduce Council Tax bills for everyone getting Council Tax Reduction at new year billing by up to £25.
If you are getting Council Tax Reduction when we send you your bill for 2023/24, we will automatically apply the reduction on your bill – you don’t need to contact us.
We will use the remaining funding to further support vulnerable households with their Council Tax bills.