A Council Tax bill is calculated as
if two or more adults are resident in the property. If, however,
only one adult (a person over the age of eighteen) occupies your
property, then you will be entitled to a 25% single person
discount. Please note that
married couples/partners are deemed to live in
the same property, even when one of them is temporarily absent due
to work commitments.
When calculating how many adults are
living in a property, certain people are
discount disregarded and do not count toward
the number of people residing in the property.
For 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, if a
property was unoccupied you were entitled to a 10% discount for
both furnished second homes and long term empty properties.
With effect from 1 April
2006, however, a furnished property that is unoccupied will
still be entitled to a 10% discount but no such discount
will be available for long term empty properties i.e.
unoccupied & substantially unfurnished for more than six
months.
Under certain circumstances a second
home may be entitled to a 50% discount. This is where the Council
Taxpayer is unable to reside in their secondary residence due to a
specified condition in their contract of employment, which
stipulates that they must reside in another property.
Examples of such circumstances would
be were a publican was required to live above his licensed
premises, a residential school caretaker, a practicing reverend
living within his diocese or a member of the forces who has been
posted away on a tour of duty.
To qualify both properties must be
furnished, situated within England, Wales, or Scotland and the
applicant must be responsible for the Council Tax payment on
each dwelling (Ministry of Defence accommodation and properties
provided to a minister of religion for the performance of their
duties are included within this payment definition).
Unoccupied pitches (for caravans)
and moorings (for boats) will also qualify for a 50%
discount.
Discounts are reviewed regularly in the year and visits may be
made where appropriate to verify that discounts should
continue.
No account is taken of your income, so even if you are
receiving a good income you could still qualify for this
reduction.
Application forms:
If you would like an application
form please contact a member of the Local Taxation Team and they
will be happy to assist you with its completion.
Please note:
If you have been granted a discount
that you believe you are not entitled to, you are legally required
to inform the Council within 21 days. Failure to do so may result
in the issue of a £70.00 civil penalty.
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