The changes we are proposing may alter the amount of Council Tax Support your household can receive. We are still proposing to calculate your discount based on your weekly household income, but the amounts and the discount bands would be slightly different. Your weekly allowance increases if you are living with a partner, or have children.
Proposed Council Tax Support discount bands
View the table below which matches your household, to see how much Council Tax Support you would qualify for, under the new proposals.
These rates are based on the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2023/24. When the rates change for 2024/25, we would revise these bands to fit those new rates.
Single person households
Your weekly household income allowance increases by £50 per child, up to a maximum of £100 (or two children).
Contents
Basic single person's allowance
| Weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £85.10 | 100% |
| £85.11 to £185.10 | 85% |
| £185.11 to £285.10 | 60% |
| £285.11 to £335.10 | 40% |
| £335.11 to £385.10 | 20% |
| £385.11 and above | 0% |
Single person + 1 child
| Weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £135.10 | 100% |
| £135.11 to £235.10 | 85% |
| £235.11 to £335.10 | 60% |
| £335.11 to £385.10 | 40% |
| £385.11 to £435.10 | 20% |
| £435.11 and above | 0% |
Single person + 2 or more children
| Weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £185.10 | 100% |
| £185.11 to £285.10 | 85% |
| £285.11 to £385.10 | 60% |
| £385.11 to £435.10 | 40% |
| £435.11 to £485.10 | 20% |
| £485.11 and above | 0% |
Households with couples
Your weekly household income allowance increases by £50 per child, up to a maximum of £100 (or two children).
Contents
Basic couple's allowance
| Weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £133.58 | 100% |
| £133.59 to £233.58 | 85% |
| £233.59 to £333.58 | 60% |
| £333.59 to £383.58 | 40% |
| £383.59 to £433.58 | 20% |
| £433.59 and above | 0% |
Couple + 1 child
| Weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £183.58 | 100% |
| £183.59 to £283.58 | 85% |
| £283.59 to £383.58 | 60% |
| £383.59 to £433.58 | 40% |
| £433.59 to £483.58 | 20% |
| £483.59 and above | 0% |
Couple + 2 or more children
| Weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £233.58 | 100% |
| £233.59 to £333.58 | 85% |
| £333.59 to £433.58 | 60% |
| £433.59 to £483.58 | 40% |
| £483.59 to £533.58 | 20% |
| £533.59 and above | 0% |
Proposed calculation of your Council Tax Support
What we would include in your income allowance
- We would disregard the following payments. This means that we would no longer count them as part of your weekly household income allowance:
- The Housing Costs element of your Universal Credit
- The Childcare element of your Universal Credit
- Any Housing Benefit you receive to pay for living in supported accommodation
- We would increase the weekly household income allowance you can get, by £50 for each child in your household, up to a maximum of £100 (or two children).
The amount of discount you could get
- We would introduce a 100% discount for the poorest households, meaning that there would be no Council Tax to pay.
- The lowest income band would now correspond with the basic Universal Credit standard allowance for a single person or couple over the age of 25. Read more about the standard allowance on the GOV.UK website.
- The range of discounts would also change, with a more even banding from 100% to 0%, as you progress through the income bands.
How we would decide how many people are in your household
We would no longer have to use the DWP assessment of who is a member of your household when deciding your claim for Local Council Tax Support.