There are two benefits available that can help with the payment of your Council Tax bill. These are Council Tax Benefit and Second Adult Rebate.

These are separate to discounts and exemptions that are administered by the Council Tax department.

You cannot apply for both Council Tax benefit and Second Adult Rebate. The benefit form that you complete provides us with the information we need to determine which benefit will make you better off.

Council Tax Benefit is means tested. We will look at your income, savings and capital and the income and savings of any other people that live with you. You do not need to be in receipt of a particular type of income to claim, we are able to look at a wide range of circumstances. If you have a low income or receive any benefits from the state then you should apply.

Sometimes you will not be able to claim Council Tax benefit, this could be because your savings are over £16,000, or you are not the person liable to pay the Council Tax.

Please see How to claim

You can receive Council Tax Benefit up to 100 per cent of your Council Tax charge; the minimum amount of Council Tax Benefit you can receive is £0.01.

You can use the Benefit calculator to gain an idea of whether you may qualify for benefit.

Visit the Benefit Calculator. If you would like to discuss a decision that the benefit calculator provides please contact us, see contacts.

Your Council Tax Benefit will usually be paid from the Monday after your claim is received at our offices.

We may be able to pay you benefit for up to 52 weeks before this date if you can show that you have had good cause for not making your claim at an earlier date.

You will need to apply for a backdated payment in writing, advising the date that you would like benefit to be backdated to, the reasons why you have not applied before and provide proof of your income savings and household income and savings for that period.

You can complete our backdated benefit application form, see application forms. Please contact us for more information about how to get a backdated benefit application form.

If you are entitled to Council Tax Benefit, the benefits will go straight to your Council Tax account. We send you a notification letter explaining our decision, the amount that you are entitled to and how we have worked this out. The Council Tax section will send you a new bill.

We cannot advise you to reduce the amount of Council Tax you pay until we have worked out your benefit.

Please see Second Adult Rebate.

You can find out more information about Council Tax Benefit by contacting our offices, visiting other web sites and organisations. See contact us, useful contacts and leaflets.