Council tax discounts

If you are eligible for a discount you can apply to get money off your council tax bill.

A full council tax bill is based on at least 2 adults (over 18) living in a home. If there are more than 2 adults the bill does not increase.

There are different discounts available depending on your particular circumstances. Most council tax discounts are not related to household income, but our council tax reduction scheme provides help to people on a low income.

Single person discount

You can get a 25% single person discount if:

• you live on your own, or
• all other adults you live with are ‘disregarded’

Some people are disregarded for council tax, meaning we do not count them when working out your eligibility for a discount.

We can only disregard other adults you live with if you provide us with their details – you need to complete a separate form for each of them – these can be found in the Downloads box on this page.

How to apply

To apply for a single person discount you need a South Gloucestershire Council account.

Once you have logged in you will need to enter your billing number which starts with a 4 and can be found on your bill.

You should continue to pay your council tax until any discount is awarded.

If you do not agree with our decision relating to a discount, you can appeal to us in writing using the details in the contact box on this page.

If your circumstances change

Disabled band reduction scheme

You might be able to apply for a council tax discount if you or someone you live with is disabled.

You will have to show that you have one or more of the following:

• an extra bathroom, kitchen for the disabled person
• a room that is used for a special purpose (for example dialysis)
• extra space inside the property for using a wheelchair

The property must be the main home of at least one disabled person. This can be an adult or a child. It does not have to be the person responsible for paying the council tax.

A visit to the property by our inspector will be required to make sure all criteria are met.

If you qualify, your bill will be reduced to the next lowest council tax band. For example, if your property is in Band D, you will pay the Band C rate. If your home is already in the lowest band (band A), you will get a 17% discount on your council tax bill instead.

Other discounts

You may get up to 50% discount off your bill if everyone living in your household is disregarded.

Someone is disregarded if they are:

• under 18 years old
• 18 or 19 years old and in full-time education
• a full-time student, student nurse, apprentice or youth training trainee
• under 25 years old and gets funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency
• a foreign language assistant registered with the British Council
• severely mentally impaired
• a long-term patient in a hospital, nursing home or residential care home
• a live-in carer for someone who is not your partner, spouse, or child under 18
• a person in detention
• a member of international headquarters or defence organisations and their dependents
• a member of visiting forces

You may also get up to 50% discount if you live in and pay council tax for a property which your employer requires you to occupy and you are liable for council tax on a second furnished property.

You can apply by downloading an application form from this page and printing it off. If you do not have printer, you can visit your nearest library or one of our One Stop Shops.

To submit your completed form:

• scan and email it to counciltax@southglos.gov.uk
• post it to Department for Resources and Business Change, Revenues Services, PO Box 1953, Bristol, BS37 0DE
• hand in your application at one of our One Stop Shops

Let us know about a change

Contact us if your circumstances change. You could be fined if you do not let us know.