Council tax support 2025-26 FAQs

Council tax support is changing from 1 April 2025. Below are some commonly asked questions to help you understand these changes.

What is council tax support?

It is financial assistance based on your individual circumstances that is provided by us to people who are on a low income and cannot afford to pay the full amount of their council tax.

From April 2025, we have made changes to the scheme for working age claimants (we have not changed the pension age scheme as this is decided by government).

Why wasn’t I told that the council tax support scheme was changing?

A public consultation was held between 30 September 2024 to 10 November 2024 and letters or emails were sent to all working age council tax support claimants, inviting them to complete the consultation questionnaire online. The outcome of the consultation can be found here.

Why have you changed the council tax support scheme?

The scheme has been changed to make it easier for you to understand and simpler for us to administer. It should result in fewer changes to the amount of council tax you need to pay if your income changes, resulting in fewer council tax bills being issued to make it more straightforward for you to budget month-to-month.

How does the new council tax support scheme work?

The new scheme is based on an income-banded grid with different figures depending on your individual circumstances (single, couple, family/single parent with one child, family/single parent with two or more children).

If you are entitled to council tax support then the council tax discount you receive could be 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% or 20% depending on you and your partner's net income.

On a low income, you can receive up to 100% support if your household is classed as vulnerable, or up to 80% if it is not.

This should make it easier for you to work out the amount of support you will receive based on your household income. It should also help you understand the impact that any changes to your income would have on the amount of support you will receive and the amount of council tax you will need to pay.

What is classed as a vulnerable household?

You are entitled to extra protection (up to 100%) if the income your household receives indicates enhanced disability or full-time caring responsibilities. The incomes that qualify for vulnerable status are:

• Middle or higher rate care component of the disability living allowance
• Enhanced rate of the daily living component of personal independence payments
• Carers’ allowance or the carer's element of universal credit
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• The support component of employment and support allowance
• Universal credit with a limited capability for work or limited capability for work- and work-related activity element; and additionally, where applicants or their partner are entitled to either of:
  • Disability premium, enhanced disability premium or severe disability premium; or the support component of the employment and support allowance.

Do I automatically get council tax support?

If you already receive support, you do not need to do anything – your award will be recalculated based on the new scheme. If you do not receive any support, you can make a claim for council tax support here.

If you make a claim for universal credit with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), please also make a claim for council tax support. Please send us any other information we need within one calendar month of us writing to you. We will use the information you provide along with any information we receive from the DWP to support us with making a decision on your claim.

I am unemployed, how much support will I get?

Look at the income grid, which will give you an estimation of how much support you will receive towards your council tax bill, after any deductions and income disregards have been considered.

If you are classed as being in a vulnerable household, you could receive an award of up to 100%, otherwise you could receive support from 80% to 20% depending on your entitlement.

What counts as income when working out my entitlement for support?

The net income (after tax and national insurance) that you and your partner receive from employment or self-employment and any additional income you receive from benefits. This will include disability benefits and other income which may have been disregarded previously. Some other incomes will also count, such as income you receive from a person who lodges with you.

What does not count as income when working out my entitlement to support?

Housing benefit, child benefit (and similar benefits such as child’s guardian allowance, fostering allowance, special guardianship order), Armed Forces independence payments, war/war widows pensions, and the housing costs element of universal credit.

We may also deduct up to £300 of childcare costs when calculating your council tax support depending on your household/family composition.

I have some savings, am I entitled to council tax support?

If you are of working age, then you are not entitled to any support if you or your partner have savings of £6,000 or more.

My wages have changed but my council tax hasn’t, is this right?

Look at the income grid and check whether the change to your weekly income changes the part of the grid that you are currently in.

If it does not change then yes, this is right, your discount stays the same and the amount of council tax you need to pay will not change so you will not receive a new bill with more to pay. If your support is now incorrect, you can report the change in circumstances by filling in the change in circumstances form.

For example, if you are currently receiving a 60% discount as a couple with no children in a household classed as non-vulnerable, and you and/or your partner’s net income increases from £160 to £210 per week, then your discount will stay the same as it still fits in the £150.01 to £225 income band.

The new scheme is designed to be simpler and prevent minor changes in your household income causing the amount of council tax you need to pay to change every time. 

I have five children, why aren’t they all included when working out my support?

The scheme has been simplified to add an additional amount up to a maximum of three children. The child benefit that you receive is not counted as income when working out your entitlement to council tax support.

In addition, any child maintenance payments you receive do not count as income. Within families with children who currently receive council tax support, the average number of children is three, so to simplify the scheme support is limited to three children. 

Why are you taking a deduction from my entitlement as my adult child lives with me?

If you have someone aged 18 or over living with you (that is not your partner), it will affect how much council tax support you get because they are expected to contribute towards your household expenses, therefore we will deduct £5.88 (20% of a band A charge) from your weekly council tax support award. There are some exceptions, for example if they are a full-time student, disabled or unable to work.

I live in a high banded property but have a low income, can I still get support?

You may still be eligible for support, but the amount you can receive is capped to what you would have been entitled to if you lived in:

• A band C property if you are a vulnerable household
• A band B property if you are not classified as vulnerable.

What do you mean when you refer to ‘income disregard’?

Some incomes that you receive are ignored by us when we work out how much council tax support to pay you. These ignored amounts are called ‘income disregards'. 

I have council tax support, but I still cannot afford to pay my council tax, can you help?

We have a council tax discretionary relief (CTDR) fund that may be able to help you. It is in place to help people who have council tax support and are facing ‘exceptional hardship’.

This is not guaranteed and is considered based on your individual circumstances. If your application is successful then you will receive additional help to pay your council tax based on your individual needs. If you receive help via CTDR this will not be forever – you will need to work with us and other agencies to receive help and support to improve your financial position.

We recognise the importance of protecting our most vulnerable customers. This fund is in place to ensure that we protect and support those most in need. The council tax discretionary relief fund is intended to help in cases of exceptional financial hardship.

You can apply for this using the quick link provided at the top of this page.

What can I do if I am unhappy with the decision made regarding my council tax support claim?

If you are unhappy with a decision we have made with regard to your council tax support, you can ask us to explain our decision. Write to us with the reasons why you are unhappy with the decision, and we will look at the decision again.

If, after we have looked at the decision again, you are still not satisfied with our decision you can appeal. You can also appeal if you have not heard back from us within two months. If you decide to appeal, you will need to send your appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service which will arrange for your appeal to be heard by an independent tribunal.

What can I do if I am unhappy with the changes to the council tax support scheme?

A public consultation was held between 30 September 2024 to 10 November 2024 and letters or emails were sent to all working age council tax support claimants inviting them to complete the consultation questionnaire online.

The scheme was then put forward at full council on 16 January 2025, where the scheme was agreed by councillors. The agenda and minutes of this meeting have been published here.