3. Council tax reduction
Council tax reduction is administered by local authorities and helps you pay your council tax. It replaced council tax benefit (CTB) in April 2013, and may be referred to by your local authority as ‘council tax support’, or similar. Local authorities have the discretion on how to run their own schemes. However, there is a ’default scheme’, which has been adopted by a large number of local authorities.
1CTRS(DS)(E) Regs If you live in Wales, there is a national scheme and local authorities are funded by the Welsh government.
2CTRS(PR)(W) RegsIf you have reached pension age, your local authority should provide support that mirrors that previously available under the CTB scheme.
3Reg 11 CTRS(PR)(E) RegsMost full-time students do not need to claim help as they are not liable for council tax. If you are liable, you might be able to get council tax reduction, depending on your local scheme.
In general, if your local authority has adopted the default scheme and you are a full-time student, you are not eligible for help unless you get certain other benefits, you are a lone parent or one of a student couple with children, or you are disabled.
If you are a part-time student, you may get help, depending on your circumstances and the details of your local scheme. The fact that you are a part-time student, in itself, is unlikely to affect your eligibility for a reduction.
However, schemes may have individual differences, so ask your local authority for details of its scheme. Note: scheme rules may change from year to year.