Council Tax Benefits
A benefit for those who own their property or live in a property rent free.
Who can claim?
To claim Council Tax Benefit , you or your partner must be liable to pay Council Tax. You will need to complete an application form and return it with proof of your identity, income and savings. Please note that we cannot help with payments towards a mortgage.
If Council Tax Benefit is awarded, it is credited to your Council Tax account and an updated bill will be sent to you.
As Council Tax is billed for the whole year financial year, Council Tax Benefit is assessed for the whole financial year based on your circumstances at the time you make your claim. So if you have a change in your circumstances, your claim will be reasessed up to 31st March. If this changes the total amount of Council Tax payable by you for the rest of the year, you may find that your Council Tax instalments change.
You are still liable to keep your instalments up-to-date until your Council Tax Benefit has been assessed. If you are entitled and have paid too much Council Tax this will be refunded to you by the Council Tax Section.
Second Adult Rebate
The person liable to pay Council Tax can claim this if there is another adult living in the property who is not their partner. This includes adult children, friends or relatives. The second adult should be on a low income, not liable to pay Council Tax, not be paying rent to live with you and not be "disregarded" for Council Tax purposes, examples include full-time students.
The amount of Second Adult Rebate awarded will depend on the income of the other adult. The income, savings and circumstances of the liable person does not matter.
If you want to claim Second Adult Rebate, you only need to complete Parts 1, 3 and 17 of the claim form, and give us proof of your identity and proof of the income and savings of the other adults.