Find out how to comment on our Council Tax Support review
Council Tax Support
We run a scheme that provides help to people with the cost of their Council Tax bill if they're on a low income. This scheme is called local Council Tax Support.
Our Council Tax Support scheme only applies to working age people. There is a national Council Tax Support scheme for people who are pension age, and the rules are decided by central government.
Every year our Council Tax Support scheme is reviewed. We seek views from all local residents on the proposals for the coming year, whether or not you receive Council Tax Support. You can comment on these proposals using the survey at the bottom of this page.
If you're pension age you're not affected by these proposals, but we would still welcome your views.
The current scheme
We first introduced a Council Tax Support scheme in April 2013 and have made updates since then. Our Council Tax Support scheme is now the same for all working age people and the principles of the current scheme are:
- Working age people have their CTS calculated based on 100% of their weekly CTS bill, so can receive up to 100% support
- A weekly deduction is made for each non-dependent in the household (for example grown up children) depending on their income
- The maximum amount of Capital (money, savings, shares, investments etc) allowed is £16,000
- A ‘tariff’ income is assumed for capital between £6,000 and £16,000 of £1 for every £250 above £6,000
- Excess income is deducted from the CTS award at a rate of 20p for each £1 over the allowed amount
- The following earnings are ignored when working out the amount of Council Tax Support:
- £15 for a Single Person
- £20 for a Couple
- £30 for a person who is disabled or a carer
- £35 for lone parents
The proposed changes for working age people for 2026/2027
We are not proposing any major updates to the Council Tax Support scheme for 2026/2027.
We are making two small changes to ensure payments from government for certain initiatives do not affect people’s Council Tax Support entitlement. These changes mean we disregard (don’t count) payments made under:
- The government’s Infected Blood Scheme, or
- The Armed Forces LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme.
We would also like to increase the time a new claim can be backdated from one month to three months. This is then the same as the pension age scheme, provides more help for those on low incomes, and gives people more time to apply for Council Tax Support.
Consultation questionnaire
The consultation invites your views on our proposals. Comments will gathered from the consultation and reported to Members before the final Council Tax Support scheme is agreed.
The questionnaire can be found at the link below.
CTS consultation questionnaire
This consultation runs until 22 September 2025.