Discounts, Exemptions And Benefits Available On Council Tax Charges
Council Tax Discounts
Single Persons Discount: If
your bill shows the full amount payable without a discount, the assumption is
that there are at least two adults living at your property as their sole or
main residence. However, if you live alone your bill should show a 25%
discount, this is called a single persons discount.
If you are not currently in receipt of a single
persons discount and think that you should be please complete the on-line
Single Persons Discount Application form .
If your circumstances change and you are no
longer the only adult living in the property you will need to complete a
Single
Persons Discount Cancellation form
Empty Properties: From 1 April
2004 onwards, where a property is unfurnished and unoccupied there will be a
discount of 10% on council tax once the six-month exemption for such properties
is exhausted . Similarly there will be a 10% discount for furnished
properties that are no-ones sole or main residence. There is no exemption
period for such properties but there are exemptions relating to the owner's
need to live elsewhere because of their employment and for people who have to
live elsewhere for security purposes.
Adults Excluded: Some people
will also get a discount because they, or the people who live with them, are
not counted for council tax purposes. They include:
- full-time students
- youth training trainees
- apprentices and some student nurses
- patients resident in hospital
- people who are being looked after in care homes
- severely mentally-impaired people
- people staying in certain hostels or night shelters
- 18 and 19 year olds who are at, or who have just left, school
- care workers on low pay, normally working for charities
- people caring for someone with a disability other than their
partner or a child under 18
- members of visiting forces and some international institutions
- members of religious communities
- people who are in prison (unless they are in prison for not paying
Council Tax or a fine)
For further information telephone our Council Tax Helpline on:
01628 796420 or email: council.tax@rbwm.gov.uk
People With Disabilities
You may be entitled to a reduction in your bill if your home has one of the
following:
- a room which is predominantly used and required for meeting the
needs of a disabled resident or
- an additional bathroom or kitchen required for meeting the needs of
a disabled resident
- sufficient floor space to permit the use of a wheelchair required
for meeting the needs of a disabled resident.
This reduction is calculated by charging your
council tax on the valuation band below that which your home is in. It
will be shown separately on your bill as a reduction.
Exemptions
You do not have to pay council tax on the following classes of property:
- unoccupied and unfurnished property which needs, or is undergoing,
major repairs or structural alterations. Exemption is for a
maximum total of 12 months.
- unoccupied property owned by a charity (up to six months)
- unoccupied and unfurnished property (up to six months)
- unoccupied property which was the home of someone who has gone into
prison
- unoccupied property which was the home of someone who has gone into
a residential home or hospital to receive residential care
- unoccupied property which is waiting for probate or letters of
administration to be granted (exemption lasts until probate is granted
and for six months after this, while unoccupied)
- unoccupied property where occupation is forbidden by law
- unoccupied property which is awaiting occupation by a minister of
religion
- unoccupied property which was the home of someone who has moved
into another residence (other than a residential home or hospital) to
receive personal care
- property left unoccupied by someone who has moved away to provide
personal care for another person
- unoccupied property where the owner is a full-time student who last
lived in the property as their main home
- unoccupied property which has been repossessed by a mortgage
lender
- student halls of residence
- property occupied only by students
- property owned by the Secretary of State for Defence for armed
forces' accommodation
- property occupied by visiting forces
- unoccupied property where the person who is liable for the council
tax is a trustee in bankruptcy
- a pitch or mooring which is not occupied by a caravan or
houseboat
- a dwelling occupied only by persons under the age of 18
- an unoccupied dwelling which is self-contained but forms part of
another dwelling and cannot be let separately under planning
control, eg annex for an elderly person
- a dwelling occupied only by people who are severely mentally
impaired
- a dwelling occupied by someone entitled to diplomatic immunity
- a dwelling which is self-contained but which forms part of another
dwelling, eg an annex occupied by elderly or disabled
relatives.
New Local Exemptions
The Royal Borough has agreed that from 1 April
2004 there will be a 100% exemption from council tax for up to 12 months for
any dwelling which has been rendered uninhabitable as a result of a natural
disaster and which requires substantial building or remedial works to make it
habitable again.
Council Tax Benefits
If you are on a low income with less than
£16,000 in savings, you could be entitled to up to 100% reduction.
If you are of pensionable age there is no upper capital limit.
For further information, telephone our Benefits
Helpline on: 01628 683850 or e-mail: benefits@rbwm.gov.uk
We are pleased to help many Council Taxpayers in
this way. Unfortunately, there are those who abuse the system. Tell us in
confidence if you suspect anyone is claiming benefit they are not entitled to
help us 'Beat the Cheat'
Call our free 'Beat the
Cheat' line on 0500 353300 Further
Information
Further Information
For further information telephone our Council Tax Helpline on:
01628 683850 or email: council.tax@rbwm.gov.uk