Households could go down an entire council tax band or drop their bill by 17%
Households with disabled members could get hundreds wiped off their Council Tax bill even if they don’t claim any disability benefits. Instead, your property needs to meet some physical criteria in order for you to qualify for the discount.
This is the Disabled Band Reduction Scheme, and households that qualify can have their tax bill dropped to the next tax band or cut by 17%. This could save hundreds of pounds a year for some and is meant to help disabled people who have extra housing costs due to their disability, like having to stay in a larger house than they would otherwise need.
For example, if your house in the City of London is classed as tax band E, you’ll be paying £1,625.02 this year for council tax. With the reduction scheme, your bill will move down to tax band D, which costs £1,329.56. This makes an annual saving of over £300.
For people in the lowest tax band, A, they will get their bill reduced by a flat rate of 17% instead. To qualify for the Disabled Band Reduction Scheme, your home must have either extra space inside the property for a wheelchair to be used or an extra bathroom, kitchen or other room that is needed for the disabled person. For example, a spare room used for dialysis treatment or medical equipment storage.
The property must also be the main home of at least one disabled person, which can be an adult or child and it doesn’t have to be the person that is responsible for paying Council Tax. You can check if you’re eligible for the scheme and apply for it online on the Gov.uk website.
If there is someone in your household that is disabled but your property doesn’t meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme, there are other discounts available. This includes the discount for severely mentally impaired people which can cut council tax bills by up to 100%.
To get the full bill disregarded, you need to prove you’re severely mentally impaired and living on your own, with other severely mentally impaired people or with full-time students. If everyone else in your home is disregarded for other reasons, you can get a 50% discount.
However, if you are severely mentally impaired and living with another adult without a disability who isn’t disregarded, the most you can get is a 25% discount. People who are disregarded for council tax purposes:
- under 18 years old
- on certain apprentice schemes
- 18 or 19 years old and in full-time education
- a full-time student at college or university
- under 25 years old and get funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency
- a student nurse
- a foreign language assistant registered with the British Council
- severely mentally impaired
- a live-in carer for someone who is not your partner, spouse, or child under 18
- a diplomat
