Claim Council Tax Support if you are on a low income

How is Council Tax Support calculated

Our income banded scheme values which are based on your net income, are shown in the table below, these are increased each year by September Retail Price Index % (RPI%), rounded to the nearest £5

The income bands for our 2023/24 Council Tax Support Scheme are:

Discount

Passported

Single

Income Band £

Couples

Income Band £

Family with 1

child £

Family with 2+

Children

Band 1 100%

Relevant benefit

0.00 to 90.00

0.00 to 140.00

0.00 to 220.00

0.00 to 300.00

Band 2   90%

N/A

90.01 to 140.00

140.01 to 190.00

220.01 to 255.00

300.01 to 315.00

Band 3   85%

N/A

140.01 to 185.00

190.01 to 240.00

255.01 to 325.00

315.01 to 365.00

Band 4   50%

N/A

185.01 to 280.00

240.01 to 325.00

325.01 to 400.00

365.01 to 440.00

Band 5   25%

N/A

280.01 to 365.00

325.01 to 420.00

400.01 to 485.00

440.01 to 540.00

For information on our 2022 to 2023 council tax support scheme and how these changes may affect you please, see our:

Disregarded income

When we work out entitlement to Council Tax Support, we do not take the following income into account:

  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • Child Benefit
  • Child Maintenance
  • War Disablement Benefits
  • We also apply an earnings disregard of £7.50 for single people, £12.50 for couples and £17.50 for lone parents

Summary of our scheme 

Council Tax Support is awarded as a discount based on household income and circumstances as follows:

  • Earnings disregard of £7.50 for single people, £12.50 for couples and £17.50 for lone parents
  • Income from Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Armed Forces Independence Payments, Child Benefit, Child Maintenance and War Disablement Benefits are ignored
  • Universal Credit is treated as earned income when there is an element of wages, housing costs are ignored and deductions from Universal Credit to repay debts will not be removed
  • Anyone with savings of £6,000 or more will not qualify
  • Self-employed income is assessed by applying a minimum income floor
  • Applications from joint tenants are assessed on their proportion of the household
  • Income bands increase each year by September Retail Price Index

You can see full details of the scheme at Council Tax Support banded scheme 2023/24 – (pdf, 2mb)