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If your bill shows that a discount, reduction or exemption has been applied, you must tell the Council Tax Department of any changes in your circumstances which may affect your entitlement within 21 days. If your fail to do so, a penalty of £70 may be imposed.
Below is a list of the available discounts and exemptions when the property is occupied. If you are looking for discounts and exemptions for properties which are unoccupied, please go to Discounts and exemptions for unoccupied properties.
If you apply for one of the discounts and exemptions, you must continue to pay your current bill until the decision for your application is confirmed.
If you wish to learn about additional reductions for those with physical disabilities. Please visit our Disabled Band Reduction webpage.
For details on Single Person Discount, please visit the dedicated webpage.
For details on the discounts and exemptions available for students, please visit the dedicated webpage.
A person is regarded as severely mentally impaired if they suffer from severe mental impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent.
The person must be certified by a doctor as severely mentally impaired and be entitled to one of the following benefits:
You must supply evidence of one of the listed benefits and a doctors certificate to qualify for this discount or exemption.
The property will be exempt if all the people living there meet the above criteria. If any occupants do not qualify, there may be a discount.
To qualify, the person must live in the property as their main home and meet the following criteria:
To apply for a severely mentally impaired discount or exemption, please complete an online application through MyCouncil Tax Online. You can upload proof of benefit and doctors certificate.
If you have not done so yet please arrange for a doctor of medical practitioner to complete the SMI Doctor's Certificate before completing your application
You must meet the following criteria:
You cannot apply where the person being cared for is the spouse, partner, or child (under 18) of the carer.
How to apply
To apply for this discount, click the link below
Only members of religious communities are disregarded from Council Tax if their main work is:
The person must depend on the community for their material needs and have no income or savings. This will still apply if you receive income from a pension or pensions from a former job.
We will require supporting documents confirming proof of membership and a declaration you have no income.
How to apply
Please submit any evidence to support your application through the application process.
You are not liable to pay council tax if you are a Diplomat, Member of a visiting Armed Force or a dependant of a member, of certain international headquarters and defence organisations.
To qualify for this discount, you must not:
If another adult lives in your property who pays Council Tax they may qualify for a discount.
You will need to provide the following documents to support your application:
How to apply
To apply for the exemption or discount, please use our application form.
You will be eligible for a Council Tax discount if you permanently live in one of the following:
The disregard applies to the care home where the person is resident, and not to the property where that person has moved from.
Where all residents of a property are disregarded (e.g. where all the residents at a care home are receiving care) a 50% discount may be granted.
You will need to provide written confirmation of the admission date from the hospital or home to support your application.
How to apply
A property that is only occupied by a person or persons who are under 18 years of age are exempt from having to pay Council Tax. Once the occupant turns 18, they will become liable for the Tax. Until that time liability would remain with the owner, with an exemption applied
How to apply
To apply for this exemption, click the link below
If someone who normally lives in your property has been detained, they may be disregarded for Council Tax purposes. This means we do not count them when calculating the number of adults living in the property.
A person may qualify if they are:
A person does not qualify if they are:
The disregard can be applied from the date the person leaves the property due to their detention and will continue for as long as the qualifying conditions are met.
If other adults remain living in the property, the detained person will be disregarded when we calculate your Council Tax bill. If this leaves only one countable adult resident, you may qualify for a 25% Single Person Discount.
Read more on claiming Council Tax Reduction.
Once your application has been submitted or requested, we will check to see if you are eligible for an exemption or discount. We may ask you for further information or evidence.
Once the exemption or discount has been applied you will receive an updated bill. If we are unable to apply the discount or exemption, we will contact you by email or post.
Applications for exemptions and discounts will be verified and can be subject to periodic review. The Council may use third-party organisations to carry out such checks using financial and credit referencing information.