New Council Tax guide protects most vulnerable households

If you are disabled, have a health condition or are a carer you could be overpaying Council Tax and not even know it, according to a new public guide.

For the first time the government has produced a practical guide highlighting all the Council Tax discounts and exemptions to ensure families aren’t paying more than their fair share of Council Tax.

Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak MP, said "Council Tax is a vital source of funding for local government, supporting most of the day-to-day services we all use and rely on.

"However, no one should be paying more than their fair share. We want to help people keep more of what they earn which is why we’ve produced this easily-accessible guide explaining the discounts and exemptions available – many of which people may never even knew existed."

Full exemptions include when an entire household are full-time students, if a person has recently moved into hospital or a care home or if all people in a household have a mental impairment, including conditions like dementia, or are receiving live-in care.

Other advice the guide contains includes family or ‘granny’ annexes discounts, support for those in hardship, the armed forces, if you live on your own and advice when someone passes away. The guide also explains how you can challenge your Council Tax band.