Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions

Adults living alone will be entitled to a discount of 25%. You can apply for this online.

For this discount, certain adults are not counted (disregarded). If everyone living in a property are disregarded a 50% discount will apply.

If you believe that some or all adults living at a property should be disregarded and a discount applies please contact the Council Tax Team.

People that will be disregarded when deciding how many adults live in a property include:

• Children under 18
• Persons over 18 for whom Child Benefit is still being paid
• Certain school leavers under the age of 20 and who have finished a full-time course between 1 May and 31 October
• People with a severe mental impairment who receive certain disability and attendance allowances
• Qualifying students
• Certain YTS trainees under the age of 25
• Student nurses
• Certain apprentices
• Long-term and permanent hospital patients
• Certain people resident in residential care homes, nursing homes or mental nursing home or hostel
• Most persons in prison
• Certain care workers
• All adult residents are severely mentally impaired

A discount of 50% has been introduced for properties that:

• Are annexes and similar properties that are either used together with the main property as someone's home or is the home of someone related to the Council Tax Payer for the main property and
• The annexe is subject to the Council Tax because by law any building or part of a building providing separate living accommodation must be separately subject to the tax and where it not for this requirement it would have been included with the main property for Council Tax purposes

No Discounts for Empty Properties: Residents are reminded that no discounts are provided for empty properties, whether furnished or unfurnished. The full Council Tax is applicable unless an exemption is applicable.

50% Discount for Specific Job-related Absences: If a taxpayer leaves a property empty and furnished due to job-related circumstances, residing in another property for which they are also liable to Council Tax, and provided by an employer, they may be eligible for a 50% discount on their empty property.

Changes Effective April 1, 2024: Starting from April 1, 2024, there will be an increase in the Council Tax premium for unoccupied and unfurnished properties. This modification applies to all properties vacant and unfurnished for a year or more, replacing the previous two-year threshold. The percentage premium will be added based on the date the property became unoccupied and unfurnished.

From 2024/25 the following premiums are now added to Council Tax bills for unoccupied and unfurnished properties:

100% Premium from April 1, 2025: 

Commencing April 1, 2025 a 100% premium will be introduced for properties used as second homes. 

A second home is a property which is not the sole or main residence of any individual for council tax purposes. It comprises a property which the owner does regularly occupy, but a different property is defined as their sole or main residence.

Therefore the premium will not apply to long-term furnished property lets which have been let to a residential tenant as their main home, and which will next be let to a tenant as their main home

Effective from April 1, 2025 some exceptions where the premium doesn’t apply have been introduced. These are shown below:

If the premium has been applied to your account, and you believe your property falls under one of the exceptions detailed above, please contact the Council Tax office.

Liability for Unoccupied Rented Properties: As outlined in Section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the owner is liable for Council Tax when there are no residents.

However, it defines the owner in this context as follows: Unoccupied rented properties, who is liable?

"owner", to any dwelling, means the person as regards whom the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. He has a material interest in the whole or any part of the dwelling; and
2. At least part of the dwelling or, as the case may be, of the part concerned is not subject to a material interest inferior to his interest;

'Material interest' is defined as "a freehold interest or a leasehold interest which was granted for a term of six months or more".

Exemptions

Some properties are exempt from Council Tax. These include:

Empty properties:

• Are owned by a charity (exempt for up to 6 months)
• Are left empty by someone who has gone into prison, hospital, nursing home or residential home
• Are left empty because either probate or letters of administration are awaited, or less than 6 months have elapsed since they were granted. This exemption does not apply if the property has been left to a beneficiary in the deceased’s will. As they have become the new owner they will be liable to the Council Tax
• Are prohibited by law from being occupied
• Are empty awaiting occupation by a minister of religion
• Are in the possession of a mortgagee (the lender of a mortgage, typically a bank, building society) under the mortgage
• Are unoccupied because the resident is providing/receiving care elsewhere (NOTE special rules apply and further information will be supplied on request)
• Are owned by the Secretary of State for Defence for armed forces accommodation
• Are liable to a Council Tax charge but where it would be payable by a trustee in bankruptcy
• Is an unoccupied annexe which cannot be let separately, because it is part of the main dwelling and where its letting is restricted under planning regulations

Occupied properties where:

• All the residents are qualifying students
• They are occupied by a student and where the spouse of a student is not a British Citizen and who is prevented by the terms of their entry visa from taking paid employment or from claiming benefits
• They are annexes, to other dwellings, solely occupied by dependent relatives of the Council Taxpayer resident in the other dwelling
• All the adult residents are severely mentally impaired

Apply for Student Discount

1. A person may be disregarded as a student in several ways

• If they are enrolled with an education establishment within the European Union to take a course which: lasts for at least one academic year and the course requires at least 24 weeks of study, tuition or work experience per year and at least 21 hours of study, tuition or work experience per week
  
  
• If the student is attending The University of Nottingham or Nottingham Trent University please contact the Council Tax office to apply for a disregard. These Universities supply a list of their students which can be used to quickly confirm student status
  
  
• If the student is attending another University or College they need to provide a copy of a student certificate that would be supplied by their University or College. Students at Nottingham University or Nottingham Trent University may also need to provide a certificate if their details are not on the lists provided by these universities

Note: If a property is only occupied by students a full exemption can be given. To get such an exemption contact the Council Tax office giving details of all the students if they attend The University of Nottingham or Nottingham Trent University or provide copies of their certificates if they attend a different university or college.

2. If they are under twenty years of age, studying for more than three months and at least twelve hours a week for a qualification up to A level, ONC or OND. This does not apply to correspondence courses and evening courses or courses undertaken as a consequence of their employment.

3. If they are a foreign language assistant registered with the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges.

4. If they are a non-British spouse or dependent of a student and prevented by the terms of UK entry from taking paid employment or from claiming benefits.

If you or any member of your household is disabled and your home has at least one of the following features:

• A second bathroom or kitchen required for meeting the needs of the disabled person
• A room set aside to provide specific facilities for the disabled person
• Sufficient room for the disabled person to use their wheelchair indoors

You may qualify for a reduction in your Council Tax bill.

If you qualify for a reduction, the amount of Council Tax payable will be based on the band below the one in which your property has been placed.

Even if your home is in Band A, the lowest band, you may still qualify for a reduction.

How to apply for a Discount, Exemption or Reduction for people with disabilities

If you want to apply for a discount or exemption or want more information contact the Council Tax Office. If you wish to have a discount or exemption backdated you may be required to provide evidence to show you were entitled.

Applications for a reduction for people with disabilities can be made by completing a form.

From 1^st April 2019 onwards the Council will give a 100% discount for Council Tax Payers aged 18 and 19 who were previously under the care of the Council. To get this discount the following conditions must be met:

• The taxpayer is under 20;
• They were previously under the care of Nottingham City Council;
• They are liable for Council Tax as a resident with the highest legal interest i.e. it does not apply to empty properties; 
• Their personal advisor has submitted the required application to the Council Tax section

To receive this discount please contact your personal advisor who will then make the required application on your behalf to Council Tax.

Please note this discount does not apply for any period before 1^st April 2019 or to any taxpayer who was under care with any other Council.