Make a Claim

Council Tax Reduction Claims

From 1 April 2013 our Council Tax Reduction Scheme can help to pay your council tax. This is a ‘means-tested’ scheme. If you and your partner have more than £16,000 in savings and investments you cannot claim (unless you receive Guaranteed Pension Credit). Second adult rebate can help if you are a single person who has to pay council tax and you have other adults (not a partner) living with you who are on a low income. Find out more about second adult rebate.

Information about making a claim:

How do I claim
When should I claim
How is it paid
How is the reduction worked out
How is my income worked out
Income from savings and investments
Maximum reduction

How do I claim?

You can complete a claim complete a claim online, you can visit us in person or phone for advice on 0115 981 9911. You will need to provide all the original documents we ask for as soon as possible.

If you already get help, you can access your claim by registering through our online revenues and benefits system.

When should I claim?

Claim as soon as you need to. We can usually start paying you from the Monday after the day we get your claim. Sometimes, we can pay from an earlier date if you have a good reason for not claiming earlier. If you want us to consider paying you from an earlier date, tell us when you want the reduction from and why you did not claim earlier. We can only backdate claims for up to three months if you are working age and you have shown "good cause", and three months if you are of pension age.

How is my council tax reduction paid?

When we’ve worked out your council tax reduction, we will send you a letter and a new council tax bill showing the revised amount to pay. If we ask you for more information, please send it within one month or you could lose your reduction.

How is my council tax reduction worked out?

Council tax reduction and housing benefit will be worked out at the same time. Usually you only need to fill in one form. The amount of help you can get depends on your family circumstances, your income and your savings.

How will my income be worked out?

Your income will be the total amount you and your partner have coming in each week from all sources, including savings and investments. If you work, we will take off your ‘stoppages’ such as tax and National Insurance Contributions and half of any contributions you make to a pension scheme. We also count all other income such as state pensions, tax credits and any other benefits or pensions. Some benefits are ignored, for example Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, but we still need to know if you are getting them. We have to count income from savings and investments including; bank and building society accounts, post office accounts, stocks and shares, income bonds and so on.

Income from savings and investments

If you are a pensioner and you have savings or investments of between £10,000 and £16,000 we will add £1 for every £500 or part of £500 you have, onto your weekly income figure. If you are working age and have savings and investments of between £6,000 and £16,000 we will add £1 for every £250 or part of £250 you have onto your weekly income figure. If you have more than £16,000 we cannot give you any reduction (unless you receive Guaranteed Pension Credit).

Maximum council tax reduction

If you are a pensioner or you receive the Family Premium within your applicable amount, your maximum council tax reduction will be based on 100 per cent of your council tax liability. For all other people your maximum council tax reduction will be based on 91.5 per cent of your net council tax liability. However, families with dependent children are protected.