Council Tax Support could reduce the amount of Council Tax you have to pay if you have a low income.
Council Tax Support has replaced Council Tax Benefit for people who need help with paying their Council Tax.
The amount of money we get from the government to pay for our new scheme is around 10 per cent less than we received for Council Tax Benefit. This shortfall in funding in 2013/14 is around £5.2 million and will be on top of additional cuts that we must make across all our services. The new Local Council Tax Support scheme in Leeds is similar to the old Council Tax Benefit Scheme but because of the reduction in funding some households now get less support.
There is no change for pensioners, their support is worked out exactly as it was before. There is also no change for:
• Lone parents of children under the age of 5
• Households who get the Severe or Enhanced Disability Premium
• Carers
• War Widows / Pensioners, including disablement pensions. We will also continue to ignore war pensions when calculating the households income.
For everyone else, their support is now reduced by 19%
The reduction means that a single adult householder living in a Band A property in Leeds who previously had nothing to pay, has £126.06 to pay in 2013/14. A household of 2 or more adults living in a Band A property in Leeds who previously had nothing to pay has £166.74 to pay in 2013/14.
Second Adult Rebate has also been abolished for working age households.
See the downloads area below for more information
We have published the Leeds Council Tax Support Scheme 2013-14, which apart from the changes outlined already is the same as the old Council Tax Benefit Scheme.
There is also a Council Tax Support Information Leaflet that has more information about the change and how to pay Council Tax if you are paying for the first time.
The Council Tax Support Q and A document will answer some of the questions you may have about the new local scheme.
We have also published a Council Tax Support (EIA) Equality Impact Assessment.
Also see the Related Pages area for further information on other National Welfare Benefits changes, information about what you can do if you disagree with a decision about your Council Tax Support in disputes and appeals, as well as information on how to pay your Council Tax and how to get Debt advice if you need it
If you do not claim Council Tax Support already you can use the Benefits Calculator (see the related page below) to find out how much you could get
