Council Tax Discounts

Single Person’s Discount

You can claim 25% off your Council Tax if you are the only person over 18 who lives in your home. Contact us on 020 8356 3154 if you want to apply. You may also qualify for a discount if all but one of the residents are not counted for Council Tax payments. In which case, you may be able to claim 25% off.

People who qualify for discounts are:

• Most full-time students
• Some people who live with and care for someone else for a low wage
• Young people for whom Child Benefit is payable
• People under 25 who receive training under the National Traineeship scheme
• Some apprentices
• Student nurses
• Foreign language assistants
• People who leave school after 30 April and start a course of further education before 30 October of the same year
• People who are detained in prison or under the Mental Health Acts
• Patients who live in a hospital, care-home, nursing home or mental nursing home
• Residents of night shelters or hostels
• Members of religious communities who have no income or savings (for example, monks and nuns)
• Diplomats and their spouses, if not a British citizen
• People who are severely mentally impaired

If all the residents of a property are not counted, you can claim 50% of your Council Tax.

But if anyone is a student or severely mentally impaired, the property will be exempt.

Note: People who qualify for discounts are still liable to pay the balance of the Council Tax that is due.

Students

Generally students are not liable for Council Tax. There are some exceptions to this – please contact the Council Tax department for further clarification.

Partners of students

If a student is married to someone from abroad, has a civil partner or dependants from abroad. We may not count them for Council Tax purposes if their visa stops them working, claiming benefit or other `recourse to public funds’.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect on 5 December 2005. This means that couples in same sex relationships are treated the same as those in opposite sex relationships. This may change who’s liable and entitlement to some discounts or exemptions may change. If you think you are affected by this or have any queries please contact the Council Tax department on 020 8356 3154 or email them at council.tax@hackney.gov.uk

Empty properties

If no one lives in a property, you can apply for 50% off your Council Tax and, in some cases, the property may be exempt.

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Page updated: 1 Feb 2008