Our working age scheme
Our council tax support scheme for working-age customers aims to make the amount of support customers receive more stable month-to-month, making it easier to budget and plan.
It also offers those on the lowest incomes up to 100% discount on their council tax bill.
Our scheme works by placing your weekly income into a band.
How we work out your income
We look at your net weekly household income, which includes your earnings from work (before tax and National Insurance), most benefits, pensions, and other regular income you and your partner recieve, if you are a couple.
If you receive Universal Credit, we will count the following payments when calculating your income:
- Standard allowance
- Child element - from April 2026, if you have more than two children and recieve extra Universal Credit as a result of the removal of two-child limit, we will count this as income when we look at your income band. This may affect your band and the amount of discount you get.
- Childcare element
- Transitional protection
- Limited Capability for Work (LCW) or Limited Capability for Work and Work-related Activity (LCWRA)
If you are self-employed and the DWP use a minimum income floor for Universal Credit purposes, rather than your actual self employed income, we will use the same income.
However we will not consider the following Universal Credit payments when calculating your income:
- Pro-rata housing element
- Disabled child element
- Carer element
We also do not take into consideration the following benefits:
- Carers Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance Support Component
- Non-dependent deductions
- Personal Independence Payments
- War Widows/Widowers and War Disablement Pensions
Some households may also qualify for additional income disregards - for example households:
- who claim a disability benefit receive an £85 disregard from their income (per household).
- who are in work have up to £50 disregarded from their earned income (per household).
When you receive your bill it will tell you what band you are in and what support you are receiving, based on your household income and make-up.
If your income changes within a band, the amount of support (discount on your bill) you get won't change. The amount of support you get will only go up or down if the income you receive means you go up or down an income band.
| Band | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Band 4 | Band 5 |
| 100% discount | 75% discount | 50% discount | 25% discount | No discount | |
| Discount you will get if you are a ... | and if your income is ... | and your income is ... | and if your income is ... | and if your income is ... | and if your income is ... |
| Single person | Up to £94 | £94.01 - £138 | £138.01 - £182 | £182.01 - £224 | £224.01 or more |
| Single person with one child or young person | Up to £191 | £191.01 - £234 | £234.01 - £277 | £277.01 - £320 | £320.01 or more |
| Single person with two or more children or young persons | Up to £269 | £269.01 - £312 | £312.01 - £355 | £355.01 - £397 | £397.01 or more |
| Couple with no children | Up to £146 | £146.01 - £190 | £190.01 - £233 | £233.01 - £277 | £277.01 or more |
| Couple with one child or young person | Up to £243 | £243.01 - £285 | £285.01 - £328 | £328.01 - £371 | £371.01 or more |
| Couple with two or more children or young persons | Up to £322 | £322.01 - £364 | £364.01 - £407 | £407.01 - £450 | £450.01 or more |
A change in income or circumstances takes effect from the date a change happens, rather than the following Monday.
About our scheme regulations
We designed our scheme in 2022 and consulted widely with local residents. Our bands are updated every year, in line with the uprating conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - this makes sure the support we give keeps in line with increases in the cost of living.
We carried out an equality impact assessment (EIA) which highlighted people getting Limited Capability for Work (LCW) or Limited Capability for Work and Work-related Activity (LCWRA) payments through Universal Credit might be affected, because these payments are not ignored (disregarded) when working out how council tax discount someone gets.
The scheme was not amended based on the fact that not everyone who gets LCW or LCWRA has a disability, and those who do have a disability or a long-term health condition can apply for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which are ignored in our scheme. Also, anyone already getting a disability-related benefit already benefits from £85 more of their income being ignored in our scheme.
Our scheme is detailed in full our scheme regulations.
Struggling to pay?
If you are still struggling to pay your council tax, you may be eligible for our exceptional hardship fund.
