Council Tax Reduction

Claim a Council Tax Reduction

You can apply for a reduction to your Council Tax if you're on a low income or benefits.

Eligibility

To get a reduction in your Council Tax bill, you must be:

• on a low income and liable to pay the bill
• of working age and have less than £8,000 in capital
• of State Pension age and have less than £16,000 in capital – unless you receive Guarantee Credit Pension Credit.

Find out further information about our Working Age Council Tax Reduction Scheme to see if you might qualify.

Make an application for Council Tax Reduction

Please follow the link below to apply for Council Tax Reduction or to continue completing an application you have already started.

Don’t qualify for Council Tax Reduction

If you do not qualify for a Council Tax Reduction (means tested), you may be entitled to other discounts or exemptions e.g if you are a full time student, you will not be liable to pay Council Tax. For full details regarding categories and how to apply, please see  Council Tax discounts and exemptions.

Second Adult Rebate

If you are of State Pension age and solely liable for the Council Tax but have another adult or adults living with you, you may be able to claim for a Second Adult Rebate. Please see Second Adult Rebate for more information.

Second Adult Rebate

Only those who are of State Pension age can claim a Second Adult Rebate in Three Rivers.

Second Adult Rebate allows a person to claim a reduction of up to 25% of their Council Tax bill, if the other adult(s) who lives with them are on a low income or certain benefits.

The claimant must be State Pension age and solely liable for paying the Council Tax bill but has a second adult or more than one adult living with them who is:

• is 18 or over
• isn’t their partner
• doesn't pay them rent
• doesn’t have a contract with the landlord
• doesn’t jointly own the home
• is on low income or getting certain benefits

You cannot claim for a Second Adult Rebate if you are already claiming Council Tax Reduction, but you may qualify for a Second Adult Rebate even if you do not qualify for Council Tax Reduction.

Working Age Council Tax Reduction Scheme

From 1 April 2024, we have introduced a banded scheme for working aged customers. If you are eligible for Council Tax Reduction, you could see a reduction off your Council Tax bill of between 25% and 100%, after any discounts or exemptions have been applied to your Council Tax account, depending on how your household fits the criteria.

Please note the Working Age Council Tax Reduction Scheme is restricted to Council Tax Band D. If the property you occupy is in Council Tax Bands E – H, you may still claim Council Tax Reduction, however the amount of reduction you are entitled to, will be calculated on a percentage of the equivalent charge for Council Tax Band D in your area.

If you have less than £8,000 capital and meet the criteria below then you can apply.

The aim of the new scheme is to make the amount of support customers receive more stable month-to-month. The scheme also offers those on the lowest incomes up to 100% discount on their Council Tax bill.

How does the new scheme work?

The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTR) for Working Age customers is an income-banded system based on household make-up and weekly net income, which will give you a percentage reduction on your Council Tax liability, if you qualify.

Please see income bands below:

View information on previous Income Bands for 2024-2026.

How we calculate your weekly income

We will add together all of the income you receive. If you are a couple, you and your partners income will be added together to work out your total income. Some certain types of income are disregarded. Please see the full list of these below. Your total income is then converted into a weekly amount.

We then deduct from your weekly income any of the following disregards that apply to you.

• Claimants who are in work, an earnings disregard of £50 per week for couples or lone parents and £25 per week for single people
• Claimants who claim a disability benefit will receive a £60 disregard from their income

Disregarded income

When we calculate your income to work out your band, payments received for the following are disregarded:

• Carers Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Disability Living Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance Support Components
• Personal Independence Payments
• Universal Credit Carer Element
• Universal Credit Disabled Child Element
• Universal Credit Housing Element
• Universal Credit Limited Capacity to Work Element

Make an application for Council Tax Reduction

Please follow the link below to apply for Council Tax Reduction or to continue completing an application you have already started.

Please note, working age customers can ask for their Council Tax Reduction claim to be backdated for up to 52 weeks from the date of claim.

Report a change in circumstances

If you are already claiming Council Tax Reduction, and there has been a change to your circumstances including a change of address, savings, household, or income, you must let us know within one month of the change coming into effect.