Council Tax Support is a new discount which replaced Council Tax Benefit on 1 April 2013.
See the Council Tax Support from April 2013 related page area to find out more about this change.
Council Tax Support can reduce the amount of Council Tax you pay or mean that you have nothing to pay.
Anyone living in the UK who has a low income, and who pays Council Tax can claim Council Tax Support. You can’t claim Council Tax Support if you have capital over £16,000 unless you are over pension age and receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit. Special rules apply for full time students and people from abroad.
If you are pension age and can't get Council Tax Support you may be able to get Second Adult Rebate instead. You might get Second Adult Rebate if you are a single person or a couple where one is disregarded from the Council Tax charge, but there are other adults in your home who have a low income. Second Adult Rebate is based on the income of the ‘second adult’ and not of the applicant. If you wish to find out more about Second Adult Rebate, please contact us.
The amount of Council Tax Support paid depends on
- you or your partner's income
- you or your partner's savings
- the number of children living with you
- other people in your household
- If you or your family have any special circumstances, because of illness or disability.
You can find out how much Council Tax Support you could get by using our Benefit Calculator see the related pages area at the bottom of this page.
Council Tax Support and Second Adult Rebate for pensioners can be claimed using the same claim form. This is also the form for Housing Benefit and education benefits. You only need to complete one form to apply for them all. You can download and print a form from the download area at the bottom of page, or pick one up from any of our one stop centres. There is also a new claim information booklet which provides details about the benefit claim process and what information we need from you. You can also hand the form into any of our one stop centres and if you rent from the Council, you can drop your form into your local housing office. See Contact us as the top of the page for the address of your nearest One Stop Centre.
Your claim for Council Tax Support allows a claim to be "treated as made" on the day that you register your intention to claim. In most instances we will start your claim from the Monday after that date providing that you return a completed application form to us within one month of that date.
Intent to claim can be registered by means such as a telephone call, an email or in writing. However it must be made by the person wishing to claim and must be registered with a designated office: Leeds Benefits Service, a one stop centre, an ALMO, or a DWP/Pension Service office.
If you think our decision about your Council Tax Support is wrong, you can ask us to look at it it again, see the disputes and appeals page below for more information.
You can also follow the links in the related pages area below to find out about other Council Tax Discounts and How to pay your Council Tax and What happens if you dont pay
