- Changes in the household income may not result in a change to the amount of Council Tax Support discount awarded if the new income is still within the same income band.
- Changes in the household composition, even if there is no change to household income, may result in a change to the amount of Council Tax Support discount awarded if the change moves the household into a different group.
Key Features of the 2020/2021 scheme
- Anyone with savings or capital in excess of £6,000 will not qualify for Council Tax Support;
- Council Tax Support is limited to a Band E charge, this means if you live in a Band F, G or H property, the maximum support you can receive will be 80% of a Band E charge;
- The way we calculate Council Tax Support will change for working age people. We will calculate the amount of household net income and applicants will receive a discount of either 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% or 0% depending which income band that net income falls into;
- By net income we mean the total household income from both net earnings and unearned income and after we have deducted any incomes that are disregarded;
- By net earnings we mean the amount of earnings after any deductions for tax, national insurance contributions and any amount towards a personal pension;
- Applicants in receipt of a passporting benefit will automatically be placed into Band 1 and receive 80% discount. By passporting benefit we mean Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based) or Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related);
- Where a deduction is made for a non-dependant living in the property this will be a standard £4 per week regardless of the income of the non-dependant;
- To support incentives to work we will disregard an amount from any weekly net earnings. This will be £5 for single people, £10 for couples, £20 for disabled & carers and £25 for households with at least one dependant child (the highest amount that applies will be disregarded);
- Child care costs will continue to be disregarded from net earnings for those in employment or self-employment up to a maximum of £175 per week for one child and £300 per week for two or more children;
- Extra amounts may be disregarded from income if someone in the family is disabled e.g. if a child receives Personal Independence Payments an extra £65.52 each week will be disregarded;
- Income from Carer’s Allowance will be disregarded in full and will not be included in the calculation of income;
- Income from Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Armed Forces Independence Payments, Child Benefit, Child Maintenance, War Disablement Benefits and War Widow/er Pension will continue to be disregarded in full as income;
- Bereavement Support payments will be disregarded in full as income;
- Up to 100% of any Universal Credit Housing Cost element will be disregarded as income;
- Backdated awards of Council Tax Support will continue to be limited to 6 months and this will be at the discretion of the council;
Council Tax Support Scheme 2020 to 2021 [PDF, 1.1MB]