Council tax - discount

This Council aims to provide an efficient service and the information given explains the basic facts about Council Tax.

If only one person aged 18 or over lives in a property then we give a 25% discount.

If only people under 18 live in the property we do not charge any Council Tax.

The bill is not increased if more than 2 people aged 18 or over live in a property.

When we work out discounts, the people in the following list are not counted towards the number of adults living in the property.

  • People under 18.
  • People aged 18 and over who Child Benefit is paid for.
  • Full-time students attending college or university.
  • People who are severely mentally impaired.
  • Foreign language assistants.
  • Student nurses.
  • Apprentices.
  • Youth training trainees.
  • People in prison.
  • Care workers.
  • People who care for a disabled person who is not their spouse, partner or child under 18
  • People permanently living in hospital.
  • People living in residential care homes, nursing homes and hostels.
  • Members of international headquarters and defence organisations.
  • Members of visiting forces.
  • Members of religious communities.
  • People living in certain hostels and night shelters for those with no permanent address.
  • These people are known as being 'disregarded'.

 

Example

If 2 people over 18 live in a property and one is a student nurse, the student nurse would not count towards the number of adults in the property and we would give 25% discount.

However, to apply for a discount you must contact the Council.

We regularly review discounts and you should fill in and return all the discounts forms we send to you.

Please note, even if you are disregarded, you may still have to pay Council Tax for your property.

With effect from 1 April 2004 the Council has reviewed its policy on discounts given on long term empty properties and second homes (furnished properties with no permanent residents). With effect from this date relief will be:

Long Term Empty - No Discount

Second Homes - 10% Discount

Students

Students are disregarded in the following circumstances.

When the student is under 20 and studying for more than 3 months, and for at least 12 hours a week, for any qualification up to A level standard.

When the student is on a college or university course which lasts for more than 24 weeks and involves more than 21 hours of study each week.

When a student is on work experience as part of a sandwich course and the work experience needs to be carried out as part of the course.

When the student is a foreign language assistant registered with the Central Bureau for Educational visits and exchanges.

If the person is a student nurse studying an academic course at university or is on a Project 2000 course.

When a student lives with their husband or wife who is not British and the husband's or wife's visa prevents them from taking paid employment or claiming benefit. In this case the husband or wife will also be disregarded.

Council Tax is not charged for properties which only students live in. We also do not charge Council Tax for properties which are left unoccupied because the liable person is a student or has become a student within the 6 weeks since they left the property.

You must apply for student discounts or exemptions, in writing, and provide the relevant student certificate.

We regularly review discounts and exemptions and you must fill in and return all the forms we send to you. If you don't, you may not get your full entitlement.

 

Carers

A person may be eligible to be disregarded if the carer and the person they care for live in the same property. The disabled person must be in receipt of benefits which include the high rate care component of Disability Living Allowance or high rate Attendance Allowance.

The person they care for must not be their spouse, partner or child unless the child is over 18. They provide care for the person at least 35 hours a week on average.

An application form may be obtained from the council.

Hambleton District Council
Resources Department
Civic Centre
Stone Cross
NORTHALLERTON
North Yorkshire
DL6 2UU

Or Telephone us:

General Council Tax Enquiries 0845 1211 555

 

 

How do you rate this information / service?

Find out how we use your feedback to improve our services.

Bookmark this page using:

Find out more about social bookmarking.

These sites allow you to store, tag and share links across the internet. You can share these links both with friends and people with similar interests. You can also access your links from any computer you happen to be using.

If you come across a page on our site that you find interesting and want to save for future reference or share it with other people, simply click on one of these links to add to your list.

All of these sites are free to use but do require you to register. Once you have registered you can begin bookmarking. Each of the sites works slightly differently so use the links below to find out which service best suits your needs.

Find out more about social bookmarking at Wikipedia.

Hide this information.