Claim a Council Tax reduction

You can claim a Council Tax reduction if you

  • have savings of less than £16,000
  • are responsible for paying the Council Tax bill
  • have a low income from benefits or work, including self employment.

You may still get a Council Tax reduction if your savings are more than £16,000 and you or your partner get the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.

You can apply for a reduction at the same time as you claim for Housing Benefit.

Claim a Council Tax reduction

The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) replaced Council Tax Benefit in 2013. 

Don't have computer or access to the internet

We offer access to 

  • internet 
  • printers
  • computer 
  • digital support

and other digital services in libraries, community centres, locality offices and job centres. 

Making our decision

We include the income and savings of your partner when we process your claim. We may also take into account the income of any non dependants living with you.

If you are entitled to a Council Tax reduction, we will apply it to your Council Tax account, usually from the Monday after we receive your claim. We send you a new demand notice showing how much to pay.

You only need to claim a Council Tax reduction once. After that we will contact you to check your information. We also check the details we hold for you against information held by the Department for Work and Pensions and employers.

Tell us if your circumstances change

Appeal a decision

If we have made a decision you disagree with, you can query, appeal or dispute this decision using the Council Tax reduction review process.