If you are having difficulty paying your Council Tax there are many ways you may be able to reduce your bill. These include:

This is financial help towards your Council Tax bill. The amount of help you may get depends on your circumstances. For more information about Council Tax Benefit please see our Benefits section.

This is another way to help you pay less Council Tax. It is not based on the money or savings you have, but on the money other people who live with you have. You may qualify if they are on a low income and they are not your partner or joint occupier. To make a claim, please visit our Benefits section.

Single Person Discount

The full Council Tax bill assumes that there are two adults living in a property. If only one adult lives in a property (as their main home), the Council Tax bill may be reduced by 25%. This is called a single person discount. To apply for this discount you can Download a Single Person Discount form.

If there are more than one adult living in the property but each of them except one is a disregarded person we may give a 25% discount. If all the adults living in the household are disregarded persons, we may give a discount of 50%.

Second Homes

If a residential property is furnished, but not used as anyone's only or main home, we will give a 10% discount. This includes second homes, holiday homes and properties left empty between tenancies. If the second home is needed under a contract of employment, we may give a discount of 50%.

Cancelling or Changing a Discount

If your bill shows that we have given you a discount and your circumstances change, you must inform us immediately. You must tell us about the change within 21 days or we may charge you a £70 penalty. To report a change, you can call our Customer Services Helpline on 0161 912 2220.

The people below are referred to as disregarded persons for Council Tax purposes. This means that we will not count them when we decide how many people, aged 18 or over, live in your property. We may be able to give you a discount if someone in your home is disregarded for any of the following reasons:

• People in prison or certain types of legal detention centres
• People who are severely mentally impaired
• People aged 18 or over who Child Benefit is paid for
• Students
• The wife, husband or dependant of a student who is not a British Citizen and who cannot take paid employment or claim benefits
• Apprentices
• Student nurses (including student nurses on project 2000)
• Youth training trainees
• Patients who are staying in hospital over a long term
• Adults who mainly live in a nursing home or residential home, and who are receiving care or treatment there
• Certain school leavers under the age of 20 who have finished a course of education between 1 May and 31 October
• Certain carers providing care or support to another person other than their husband, wife or partner, or their child aged under 18
• People living in hostels - people with no fixed address
• Members of religious communities
• Members (or their dependants) of international headquarters and defence organisations
• Foreign language assistants who are registered with Central Bureau
• People associated with visiting forces
• Diplomats and senior officials of international organisations, and their husbands or wives

A property may be exempt from Council Tax, usually if it is unoccupied, but also in some cases where all the occupiers are disregarded. Properties that are exempt from Council Tax fall into one or another of the following classes:

If you wish to apply for any of the above exemptions, please write and tell us:

• Which exemption you are applying for
• Your name and the address of the property concerned
• Your council tax reference number (if known)

In certain circumstances, we will reduce the amount of Council Tax you have to pay if any member of your household is severely and permanently disabled.

To qualify for this reduction, the property must have at least one of the following features:

• A room other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet which the disabled person uses and needs
• An extra bathroom or kitchen needed for the disabled person
• Enough floor space indoors to allow the disabled person to use a wheelchair

If you qualify for disabled reduction, we will give you a discount in your banding. The Disabled Reduction Scheme applies to properties in all valuation bands A to H. To apply for disabled person reduction you can call our Customer Services Helpline on 0161 912 2220 or download a Disabled Person Reduction Application Form.