Council Tax Support

How to apply for Council Tax Support

Council Tax is a local taxation system on domestic properties. It's set and collected by local authorities. Council Tax Support helps people to manage their Council Tax bills if they're on a low income. This will be shown on your bill as a reduction.

If you're on a low income or receiving certain benefits, you might be eligible for Council Tax Support. But whether you're eligible in your area, and what you might be eligible for, is up to your local council.

Each council has their own rules so you should check what the rules are in your area.

For full details or to make an online claim, please contact your local council. You can tap here to find your local council on the gov.uk website (link opens in a new tab).

Which documents do I need to support my claim?

Once you've applied for Council Tax Support, you'll be asked to supply evidence to support your application.

Original documents must be sent within one month otherwise your claim may not be awarded. If this isn't possible (for example, because you're ill), you should ask for the one month period to be extended.

If you can't answer all the questions on a form or provide all the evidence you're asked for, you can put down 'information/evidence to follow'.

What if I don't get enough Council Tax Support?

If your Council Tax Support claim is approved but you do not get enough to pay your Council Tax, you can apply for financial help via the Discretionary Council Tax Reduction Scheme (DCTRS).

The Discretionary Council Tax Reduction Scheme Payment (DCTRS) is a way of helping you if the amount of Council Tax Support you get is not enough to pay your Council Tax.

You can apply for a Council Tax Reduction Payment via the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) process.

The Discretionary Housing Payment is a short-term payment to help people with their rent and/or Council Tax if they're experiencing financial hardship. They can be awarded as a one-off payment or as a series of payments.

To make a claim you must fill in and complete a Discretionary Housing Payment application form and advise why you are unable to pay your rent.

Details of how to do this are on our Housing Benefit (www.boltonathome.org.uk/housing-benefit) and Universal Credit (www.boltonathome.org.uk/universal-credit) pages. Just tap on the tab called 'If your Universal Credit or Housing Benefit payments aren't enough to cover your rent (Discretionary Housing Payment)'.

My Council Tax Support Claim was refused. What can I do?

If your Council Tax Support claim has been refused and you disagree with the decision, you must contact your local council straight away. You can tap here to find your local council on the gov.uk website (link opens in a new tab).

You can ask your local council to:

  • Explain it again
  • Look at the decision again. This is called a reconsider.
  • Or you can appeal to an independent tribunal to look at the decision.

Please call our Money Advice Team on 01204 328000 if you need support. We can look at your application and advise whether you have grounds to appeal against this. If you do have grounds then we can assist you.

You can also tap here to learn more about our Money Advice Team and ways they can help.