Can I Get a Council Tax Discount in Wales?

Who this guide is for

People in Wales who pay council tax, or live with someone who does, and want to know about discounts, exemptions, help on a low income and how to challenge a bill.

What this guide does not cover

• England or Scotland: see the England guide or the Scotland guide.
• Northern Ireland: there is no council tax. Homes pay domestic rates, run by Land and Property Services: see nidirect: A guide to rates.
• Council tax arrears, liability orders and bailiffs: see the debt help guide for England and Wales.
• How much your bill is, the premium your council charges, and how much Council Tax Reduction you would get: ask your council.
• How to challenge your council tax band: this guide names the route only. Ask the Valuation Office Agency.

What the rules depend on

1. Where is the home? Wales: this guide. England and Scotland have their own guides. Northern Ireland has rates, not council tax.
2. How many adults live there, and does each of them count? See "Who is not counted".
3. Is anyone disabled, a carer, a student, an apprentice or a care leaver? Each has its own rule below.
4. Is the household on a low income? Ask for Council Tax Reduction.
5. Is the home empty, or a second home? See "Empty homes and second homes".

Who is not counted (disregarded)

• a person aged 18 or over who is still entitled to Child Benefit
• school and college leavers under 20
• apprentices
• full-time students, and some non-British partners or dependants of full-time students who cannot work or claim benefits in the UK
• foreign language assistants registered with the British Council
• a person diagnosed with a significant cognitive impairment
• people in certain hostels or night shelters, in prison or detention, living in a hospital as a long-term patient, or living in a care home or nursing home
• a person who provides full-time care for someone who is not their husband, wife, partner or child under 18
• members of religious communities, members of visiting armed forces and their dependants, and diplomats
• care leavers, and a person from Ukraine hosted under the Homes for Ukraine scheme

Discounts

• You get 25% off if you are the only adult living in the property, or if every other adult living there is not counted.
• You may get 50% off if every adult in the property is not counted.
• Your local authority works out any discount, reduction or exemption. Contact its council tax department if you think you are paying too much.

Students, apprentices, school leavers and care leavers

• A full-time student does not pay council tax if they live on their own, only with other full-time students, or in halls of residence.
• For council tax you are normally a full-time student if your course involves at least 21 hours of study a week in term time and lasts at least 24 weeks a year. If you are under 20 and studying up to A level or equivalent, the course must last at least 3 months and involve 12 hours or more of study a week.
• A full-time student who lives with someone who is not a student is not counted, but the other adult may still have to pay, possibly with a 25% discount.
• For council tax you are an apprentice if you are aged 16 to 18, or 19 or over and in the first year of a qualifying apprenticeship, and you earn no more than the apprenticeship National Minimum Wage.
• A school or college leaver under 20 who left after 30 April is not counted until 1 November of that year, even if they start work.
• Care leavers aged 18 to under 25 who live on their own, or only with other care leavers, full-time students or someone certified with a significant cognitive impairment, do not pay council tax. A care leaver who lives with other adults is not counted.

Significant cognitive impairment

• A person must be medically certified by a doctor as having a significant cognitive impairment. They must also be entitled to one of a list of benefits (for example Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment at the standard or enhanced rate, or Universal Credit with limited capability for work).
• No council tax to pay if the person lives alone, or only with others who are also certified.
• 25% off if they live with one adult who has to pay council tax. 50% off if they live only with other people who are not counted. No reduction if they live with 2 or more adults who have to pay.
• Apply to your local authority on its form.

Carers

• You may get a discount if you care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and live in the same property. The person must get a qualifying benefit such as Attendance Allowance, the middle or highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, or the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment.
• The person you care for must not be your spouse or partner, or your own child under 18. You do not need to get Carer's Allowance, and your income and savings do not matter.

Disabled people: band reduction

• You may be charged at the next lowest band if the property has been adapted for someone who is substantially and permanently disabled. The adaptation can be an extra bathroom or kitchen, an extra or adapted room used mainly by the disabled person, or enough indoor space to use a wheelchair.
• The adaptation must be essential or of major importance to the disabled person's well-being. Outdoor changes alone, such as ramps or handrails, do not count.
• For example, a Band C home is charged the Band B rate. A home already in Band A may get a further equivalent reduction.

Help on a low income: Council Tax Reduction

• You can apply whether you get benefits, are in work, are unemployed, cannot work because of illness or disability, are caring for someone, or are retired.
• Your local authority looks at your weekly income, your capital (such as savings), who lives with you and whether you are of working age or a pensioner.
• You cannot get Council Tax Reduction if you have capital of £16,000 or more, unless you are 65 or over and you or your partner gets the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.

Empty homes and second homes

• An empty and unfurnished home is exempt for up to 6 months since it was last lived in. A home needing or undergoing major repair or structural work can be exempt for up to 12 months. From 1 April 2026 a new owner who buys such a home may get these exemptions again.
• A home left empty because the person has moved permanently into a hospital or care home, is in prison, or has had it repossessed can be exempt.
• When someone who lived alone dies, their home is exempt for up to 2 years or until probate is granted, whichever is first, and then for up to 12 more months after probate, while it stays empty and unsold.
• From 1 April 2023, councils in Wales can charge a premium of up to 300% on long-term empty homes and second homes.
• A long-term empty home is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for at least 1 year. A second home is substantially furnished and nobody's sole or main home. Each council decides whether to charge a premium and how much.

Backdating

• If you qualified for a discount, disregard or exemption earlier but did not apply, ask your council in writing to apply it from the date you first qualified, and give that date. If the council refuses, you can challenge the decision: see Challenging a bill.
• Council Tax Reduction can sometimes be backdated to before you applied. There are time limits, which depend on your age and where you live, so ask for backdating when you apply.

Challenging a bill

• Write to your council if you think you should not be the person paying, your home should be exempt, or a discount, exemption or disabled reduction should apply. You cannot appeal because the bill is too high or you cannot pay.
• The council has 2 months to consider it. If you disagree with its answer, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales within 2 months of the decision. If the council does not reply within 2 months, you can appeal within 4 months of first writing to it.
• Council Tax Reduction decisions can also be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales.
• Keep paying your council tax while the appeal is decided.
• Bands in Wales run from A to I and are based on values at 1 April 2003. To challenge your band, contact the Valuation Office Agency.

Common situations

• "I left care last year and I live on my own now": a care leaver aged 18 to under 25 living alone pays no council tax. Tell the council.
• "My dad lives with me and has dementia": if he is medically certified with a significant cognitive impairment and gets a qualifying benefit, he is not counted, so you may get 25% off.
• "I share a house with my student friend": the student is not counted, so you may get 25% off if you are the only other adult.

Deadlines

• The council has 2 months to consider a written challenge.
• Valuation Tribunal for Wales: 2 months from the council's decision, or 4 months from your first letter if the council has not replied.

Money figures

• £16,000: capital at or above this stops Council Tax Reduction, except for some people aged 65 or over on Guarantee Credit.

Traps

• Using England's rules: Wales has its own disregards and exemptions, including care leavers and significant cognitive impairment.
• Assuming every council charges the same premium: each council decides.
• Thinking a temporary stay in hospital means the person is not counted: only someone whose main home is the hospital is not counted.
• Stopping payments during an appeal: keep paying.