Our Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme for working age people who are claiming Universal Credit uses a simple system of income bands to assess your CTR.
The CTR scheme allows you to vary your hours at work while knowing that you won’t lose our support. It also means that you will get fewer council tax bills if your income changes from month to month.
The income band system gives you a percentage reduction on your council tax bill, and it is based on your Universal Credit award, your earnings and some other types of income.
What income is counted
We only use the Universal Credit net award, so if you are subject to benefit cap, then this is already taken into account when determining your award of CTR.
This is the same for savings as your Universal Credit will have a tariff income applied to your award.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you Universal Credit award is correct and up to date.
Non-dependants
Non-dependants are adult people in your home who live with you but are not liable for paying rent under a formal arrangement. Our Non-dependant deductions are based upon the income band which is applied to your Council Tax Reduction award.
Applying for CTR if you get Universal Credit
Universal Credit is run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), but it does not include any help with paying council tax. We administer the CTR scheme and you must apply to us separately for this.
The DWP notifies us every month of any changes to your Universal Credit award. You must still tell us about changes that might affect your CTR, including:
- changes to your household, such as people moving in or out
- any income you get that is not part of your Universal Credit calculation.
If we have previously ended a claim you have made for CTR because your income was too high to qualify, you will need to make a new application if you would like help paying your council tax.
If you are making a new application for Council Tax Reduction we will need to see the full breakdown of your universal credit award, including any deductions. You can find this by logging onto your online Universal Credit Account. Go to Payments. Scroll down to find the payment date that you need. Click on it to open the full details. Please provide a copy of this page.
More information
The full CTR scheme is available to download.
