Council tax discounts
Local authorities must normally apply a discount where there are less than two people with their sole or main residence in a dwelling.
When a discount must be applied
A local authority must normally apply a discount to the council tax bill when there are less than two people with their sole or main residence in a dwelling.
The discount is 25 percent if there is only one person with their sole or main residence in the dwelling.[1]
The discount is 50 percent if there is no person with their sole or main residence in the dwelling.[2]
Read more about sole or main residence in Liability for council tax on Shelter Legal.
Discount applied after disability reduction
Where a disability reduction has been applied to a dwelling the discount is applied to the reduced amount.[3]
How entitlement to discount is identified
Local authorities have a duty to identify entitlement to a discount. The resident can inform the local authority of entitlement to a discount if the local authority has failed to identify one.
How local authorities identify discounts
Local authorities must take reasonable steps to identify whether a dwelling is entitled to a discount.[4]
The burden is on the local authority, not the resident, to establish whether a discount applies. [5]
Where the local authority has reason to believe that a discount applies it must apply the discount when calculating council tax liability for the dwelling.[6]
The local authority can supply the information about the discount as part of a council tax bill.
Local authorities must backdate a discount if the conditions for the discount were met.[7]
Duty of residents to notify local authorities
A resident can request a discount where a local authority has not already applied one.[8]
A resident who has identified that they are not eligible for a discount or are eligible for a different rate of discount must notify the local authority within 21 days of becoming aware of the change in eligibility. This duty only applies until the end of the financial year following the year in which the local authority applied the discount.[9]
The obligation to notify the local authority applies to any resident who is liable. One person can notify the local authority on behalf of both or all liable people.[10]
A local authority may impose a financial penalty on a resident who fails to notify the authority that they are not entitled to a discount.[11]
Who is disregarded for discount purposes
When calculating a discount the local authority must disregard certain categories of people living in the dwelling. This means the local authority does not count them when assessing how many people have the dwelling as their sole or main residence.
People in detention
People in certain types of detention are disregarded.[12]
The types of detention this disregard applies to are the same as those that apply to exemptions for dwellings. They include detention:
in prison (but not for non-payment of council tax)
under immigration powers
under mental health powers
People in hospitals, care homes and hostels
People whose sole or main residence is a hospital or care home are disregarded. A disregard does not apply for short stays in hospital.[13]
People whose sole or main residence is a hostel for the homeless are also disregarded.[14] The hostel must be one which provides communal accommodation under licences rather than tenancies.
People with severe mental impairment
People with severe mental impairment are disregarded.[15]
A person is considered to be severely mentally impaired if they have a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent.[16]
The person with severe mental impairment must also be receiving one of the following benefits to be disregarded:[17]
universal credit which includes an element for limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work-related activity
universal credit which includes a carer element in place of an element for limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work-related activity
personal independence payment daily living component at either rate
disability living allowance middle or higher rate care component
attendance allowance
armed forces independence payment
constant attendance allowance
an increase in disablement pension for constant attendance
incapacity benefit
severe disablement allowance
unemployability supplement or allowance
income support which includes a disability premium
disability working allowance based on getting income support which includes a disability premium
Carers and care workers
Some carers and care workers who live in the same dwelling as the person they are caring for are disregarded.[18]
Carers
People providing care for at least 35 hours per week are disregarded.[19]
The person receiving care must be entitled to receive one of the following benefits:[20]
personal independence payment daily living component at either rate
disability living allowance middle or higher rate care component
attendance allowance
armed forces independence payment
an increased rate of constant attendance allowance
If the person they are caring for is their partner or their child under 18 the disregard will not apply. [21]
Live-in care workers
Live-in care workers employed by a local authority or charitable organisation are disregarded if they are:[22]
employed for at least 24 hours per week
earning no more than £44 per week
A live-in care worker employed by the person cared for is also disregarded if they were introduced to them by a local authority or charitable organisation.
Young people
Certain young people are disregarded. They include:
people aged under 18[23]
people aged 18 or 19 for whom Child Benefit is payable, or for whom Child Benefit would be payable were they not in the care of a local authority[24]
people aged under 20 who are school leavers or in non-advanced education[25]
In Wales, people aged over 18 and under 25 leaving care are disregarded.[26]
Students and apprentices
People in certain types of training are disregarded.[27] This includes people who are:
students in advanced education
apprentices
youth training trainees under 25
A spouse, civil partner or dependent of a student who is prevented from working or claiming benefits by immigration rules is also disregarded.[28]
Read more about When someone is classed as a student on Shelter Legal.
Other disregarded people
Other people disregarded include:[29]
members of international defence organisations and their dependents
members of religious communities who have no income of their own
members of visiting armed forces and their dependents
people with diplomatic immunity
relevant Ukrainian persons
When a dwelling could have a smaller discount
Local authorities can choose to apply a discount to long-term empty dwellings and second homes.[30]
The local authority can also choose not to apply a discount, or apply a smaller discount, to long-term empty dwellings and second homes.[31]
Local authorities cannot reduce the amount of discount for an unoccupied dwelling which is:[32]
a pitch occupied by a caravan, or a mooring occupied by a boat
unoccupied because the resident must live elsewhere as a requirement of their employment or their partner's employment
Read more about Chargeable dwellings for council tax on Shelter Legal.
Last updated: 27 August 2025