Discounts

Where an adult lives on their own (as their main home), they are eligible for a 25% discount. 

To apply for Sole Occupier Discount, please register with My Account, our online Council Tax portal. 

Once registered, visit the 'Apply for Council Tax reductions' section to complete your application.

If you are already registered, you simply need to sign in to your account in future. 

The Council Tax charge is based upon the number of people living in a property. If you are 'disregarded' it means that we do not count you when we work out the number of people living there. 

When counting the number of people living in a dwelling, if there is just one person living there, a 25% discount may be granted. If all the residents at the dwelling are 'disregarded' a 50% discount may be granted. 

If one or more of the following people live in a household, you may be eligible for a Council Tax discount

• Apprentice - If you are an apprentice and earn less than £195 per week you may be disregarded.
• Carer - If you live with and provide care for someone on certain benefits you may be disregarded.
• Foreign language assistant - If you are a foreign language assistant and are registered with the Central Bureau for educational visits and exchanges and appointed at an educational establishment.
• Member of a religious community - If you are a member of a religious community and the principal occupation is prayer, contemplation, education and the relief of suffering of others. You must also have no personal income or capital (excluding pensions).
• Member of a visiting force - If you have a relevant association with a visiting Force, (within the meaning of the Visiting Forces Act 1952); a dependant of a member may also be disregarded.
• Member of international headquarters and defence organisations - If you are a member of international headquarters or a defence organisation; dependents of any such member are also disregarded.
• Paid carer - Certain paid carers who look after an elderly person or a person with a disability for more than 24 hours/week and are not paid more than £44/week.
• Person entitled to child benefit - If there is an occupier over 18 for whom child benefit is payable in respect of, that person can be disregarded.
• Persons in detention - If there is an occupier who is detained in prison or hospital by virtue of a court order they can be disregarded.
• Persons with diplomatic privilege or immunity - If you are a non-British citizen and have privileges and immunities under certain acts.
• Resident in care home, hospital or hostel to receive care - If your main residence is in a care home, hospital or hostel a disregard discount may apply. If your property has been left empty due to you now being resident in care home, please see Exemptions Class E.
• Resident of hostel or night shelter - If you are resident in accommodation provided for the homeless.
• School leaver under 20 - If a resident is under 20, and has ceased to undertake a qualifying course of education between 1 May & 31 October, they can be disregarded until 1 November of that year.
• Youth training trainee - If you are under 25 and receiving training under the youth training scheme.

You can find application forms for some of these discounts to the right in the “Do it online” section and also at the bottom of this page. Please contact the Council if you wish to apply for any other discount.   

In households where there are both students and non-students, only the non-students will pay Council Tax.

Students will not pay Council Tax if they are:

A full time student, in further or higher education

• for at least one academic or calendar year
• at a prescribed education establishment (e.g. a university or theological college)

In further education and under the age of 20

• on a course that lasts three months or more
• attending at least 12 hours a week for supervised study or examination
• where classes are carried out between 8.30am and 5.30pm
• where the course in not carried out by correspondence

A student nurse

• attending a course that leads to an appropriate registration under section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979

A foreign language assistant

• appointed by a school or education establishment and registered as a foreign language assistant with the British Council

The following do not qualify

• Evening classes
• Correspondence courses
• Job-related training

Discounts and exemptions that can be considered

• Properties occupied solely by students will be exempt from Council Tax (Class N). This includes accommodation that is occupied by a single student.
• Where there is a household with a mix of students and non-students, only the students can be disregarded when deciding if a reduction may be given. If there are two or more occupiers who are not students, then there will be no discount applied. If there is only one adult occupier who is not a student, then we can grant the student discount of 25%

To apply for a Student Discount, use the link below and select 'Apply for a reduction if you are a student or have a student living with you' under 'View Council Tax discount and exemption services'.

Apply for a reduction if you are a student or have a student living with you

You will need your Council Tax account number and details of those over 18 in your house.

Certain people are not counted when looking at the number of adult’s in your home, this includes people who are ‘severely mentally impaired’. This term is used in Council Tax law, which is why it is referred to here, and it is not meant to cause any offence.

If, for example, there are two adults living at a properly, and one of them is severely mentally impaired, the bill is worked out as if only one adult is resident and it is reduced by 25%. If all the residents are severely mentally impaired, there will be no Council Tax to pay as a full exemption will apply (Class U).

For Council Tax purposes, the legal definition of severely mentally impaired is a ‘severe impairment of the intelligence and social functioning, (however caused), which appears to be permanent’.

Before you start your application

To qualify for a reduction, the person who is severely mentally impaired must be entitled to receive one of a number of certain benefits, the full list of which can be found below. We will need to see proof of entitlement for the whole period that a reduction in the Council Tax bill is being claimed for.

The person must be entitled to one of these benefits:

• Short-term or long-term Incapacity Benefit (IB)
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Attendance Allowance (AA)
• Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)
• The highest or middle-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Component at either standard or enhanced rate
• An increase in Disablement Pension for constant attendance
• The disability element of Working Tax Credit
• Unemployability Supplement (abolished in 1987 but existing claimants remain entitled)
• Constant Attendance Allowance payable under the Industrial Injuries or War Pension schemes
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Income Support which includes a disability premium because of incapacity for work
• The ‘limited capability for work’ or ‘the limited capability for work related elements’ of Universal Credit

Secondly, the person’s doctor must verify that their condition falls within the legal definition above and a Doctor’s certificate is required as part of this application. This should be completed and signed by the person’s GP or other medical practitioner. The Doctor’s Certificate can be found at the bottom of this page.

To apply for a Severe Mental Impairment discount, use the link below and select 'Apply for a reduction if you are severely mentally impaired or you have someone living with you that is’ under 'View Council Tax discount and exemption services'.

Apply for a reduction if you are severely mentally impaired or you have someone living with you that is

You will need your Council Tax account number and details of those over 18 in your house.

If a property is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished, a discount of 50% can be awarded for up to one month. The discount will start on the first day a property becomes empty. It will not be affected by any subsequent change in the person liable to pay Council Tax provided that the property remains empty. This is because the 50% discount is calculated from the day the property first becomes unoccupied and unfurnished.

An empty property discount will only be considered if you provide your residential address.

Annexe discount
You may qualify for a 50% discount if you live in an annexe. 

The 50% reduction is on top of any other discount you or your relative may be entitled to. For example: if your adult son is living in the annexe on his own, he will be liable for Council Tax, but he will be entitled to a 25% sole occupier discount and a 50% annexe discount. 

The annexe must be within the grounds of the main house and included in the title deeds and registered or banded separately for Council Tax and either:

• used by the resident of the main house, as part of their main home; or
• lived in by a relative of the person who lives in the main house. The relative must be a partner, parent, child, step child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, nephew and niece. This can also include great grandparent, great grandchild, and so on.

Other reductions available for annexes
If you have a close relative who lives in the annexe and they are over 65 years of age, or they are either severely mentally impaired or substantially and permanently disabled, the annexe may be exempt from Council Tax.

Similarly, if the annexe is unoccupied and cannot be let separately because of a planning restriction, then it could also be exempt.

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 may qualify for a discount of 50%.

Who can qualify for this discount?
The job related second home discount will apply to either:

• The job related dwelling if it is the second home of you or your spouse/civil partner (not their main home), or
• Another dwelling if the job related dwelling is the main residence of you or your spouse/civil partner and you have another dwelling that is therefore a second home

One of the properties must fall into class A, B or C shown below:

• A - The property is provided to you, or your spouse/civil partner, because of your employment and it is necessary for proper performance of duties (as stated in your employment contract - i.e. tied accommodation.
• B - The property is occupied as a residence from which you, or your spouse/civil partner, perform the duties of a Minister of any religious denomination.
• C - You are in the armed forces and have your main residence in the UK in Ministry of Defence accommodation which is exempt from Council Tax under Class O.

Please read the application form in the 'downloads' section of this page for the full details, eligibility requirements and evidence required.

Applications for discount must be made in writing. Some application forms are available to complete online, and the links are shown on this page. Alternatively, you can download PDF versions of other application forms to print, complete and return. These are listed at the bottom of this page.

You can also write to us at: Sefton Council, PO Box 21, Bootle L20 3US

We may write to you to ask for further information depending on the discount that you apply for.

Backdating an award of a Council Tax discount

It is the responsibility of the individual to ensure that an application for a discount or exemption is made as soon as possible.

If you have made a request for a discount or exemption to be backdated, we may check your application by visiting the property and checking other records.

We will not usually backdate a discount or other reduction unless there are exceptional circumstances. If your request is refused, you can appeal to the council in writing, providing as much relevant documentary evidence as possible.