Council Tax Discounts
Single person’s discount
If you are the only person aged 18 or over living in your
property, you may be entitled to a 25% reduction in your Council
Tax.
Alternatively,
This form may be completed electronically but will be printed
on completion and must be authenticated with a signature for the
claim to be considered
What happens after you claim a single person’s discount
If you are claiming a single person’s discount after someone
has left your property, it is normal Council practice to contact
the person(s) who have left to confirm that they live in another
property as their sole and main residence. Once we are satisfied
that you qualify for the discount, we will send you a revised
bill.
If, at a later date, anyone over the age of 18 moves into your
property or a member of your family reaches that age, you must
notify the
Revenues & Benefits
office immediately as this will affect your discount.
If you have been given a discount on your bill the Council may
periodically send you a form to confirm whether it still applies.
If you do not return the form your discount may be
cancelled.
If your bill shows that a discount has been given, you
must tell the Council of any changes that affect your entitlement,
within 21 days of the change.
To falsely claim a discount is a criminal offence and may
be dealt with by a court of law. This may mean being subject to a
financial penalty.
Other discounts
We work out your Council Tax by assuming the property is
occupied by at least two adults. We do not count some people when
we work out the number of adults living in a property.
These include:
- Full-time students, student nurses at colleges, apprentices and
Youth Training trainees;
- Patients resident in hospital;
- Patients who are being looked after in care homes;
- People who are severely mentally impaired;
- People staying in certain hostels or night shelters;
- 18 and 19 year olds, who are at, or just left school;
- Care workers working on low pay for, or introduced by,
charities or local authorities;
- People caring for someone with a disability who is not a
spouse, partner or child under 18 in receipt of certain qualifying
benefits;
- Members of visiting forces and certain international
institutions;
- Members of religious communities (monks and nuns);
- People in prison (except those in prison for non-payment of
Council Tax or a Fine);
- Persons for whom child benefit is payable and are 18 years old
or over;
This means you may be able to claim a discount even if you do
not live alone.
To find out whether your household is likely to qualify for a
discount, count the number of adults over the age of 18 in your
property, and then deduct anyone in the above list.
f the result is one adult, then a 25% discount may apply. If all
adults in the property appear in the list then a 50% discount may
apply.
To claim the discount you will need to complete a Council Tax
Discount Form, available from the Revenues
& Benefits office or Contact
Harlow.
Alternatively,
This form may be completed electronically but will be printed
on completion and must be authenticated with a signature for the
claim to be considered
What happens after you claim a discount
If you have been given a discount on your bill the Council may
periodically send you a form to confirm whether it still applies.
If you do not return the form your discount may be
cancelled.
If your bill shows that a discount has been given, you
must tell the Council of any changes that affect your entitlement,
within 21 days of the change.
To falsely claim a discount is a criminal offence and
may be dealt with by a court of law. This may mean being subject to
a financial penalty.