Council Tax Reduction - changes in your circumstances

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

There are some changes you’ll need to report to your local council if you get:

  • Council Tax Reduction (CTR)

  • bands E to H relief 

  • Second Adult Rebate.

You need to tell your council about anything that might affect how much reduction you get.

You should tell them as soon as possible after the change. A change might mean you get more or less money off your bill - your council will tell you if it does.

Check what you need to report if you’re getting Council Tax Reduction

You must tell the local council if you or your partner stops getting:

  • Income Support

  • income-based Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA)

  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) 

  • Universal Credit (UC).

You must tell the local council if you separate from your partner, or if your partner dies.

Other changes to report if you get Pension Credit

If you or your partner gets Pension Credit, you should report most changes to the Pension Service, but you should tell the local council about:

  • changes involving non-dependants

  • absence from your home, if the absence is likely to be more than 13 weeks.

If you or your partner is on savings credit only, you should also tell the council about changes to:

  • membership of your household and changes involving dependent children

  • any capital that could take it over £16,000

  • the income and capital of a partner which have not been taken into account in the pension credit claim.

If you’re getting second adult rebate

If you are getting second adult rebate because of the circumstances of another adult who lives with you, and that adult’s circumstances change, you should tell the local council as soon as possible.

Moving to a new area

If you move to a new local council area you should tell your old local council and apply for CTR to your new council.

How to report changes in circumstances

You will need to check how to report a change of circumstances to your local council. There might be rules that apply to how you report certain changes.

You should report any changes as soon as possible after they happen.

You can find your local council on mygov.scot.

If there has been a death and your local council is part of the Tell Us Once service, you can report the death to Tell Us Once. They will contact the local council. Find out more about using Tell Us Once on GOV.UK.

When will the changes affect your Council Tax Reduction

Most changes which affect your CTR will take effect in the week after the date on which the change happened, but there are a number of exceptions to this.

You might be able to continue to get CTR for a short period even if your entitlement ends. This is called an extended reduction. Read more about an extended reduction.

If your Council Tax Reduction is not changed straight away

A change of circumstance normally means that your CTR award changes from the following Monday. Sometimes the CTR award is not changed straight away, for example because you do not report a change of circumstance immediately. 

If this happens and the amount of your CTR goes down, you will owe more Council Tax for the time between the change happening and your CTR being changed.

Your local council should send you a new bill, as your Council Tax liability has changed. The additional Council Tax that you owe can be collected in the same ways as other Council Tax arrears.

Find out more about Council Tax arrears.

If you do not agree with the amount of Council Tax Reduction you get after a change

If the amount of your Council Tax Reduction (CTR) is different following a change, the local council should tell you about this.

If you disagree with the amount of CTR you now get, you can request a review of the decision.

You must ask for a review within 2 months of the date of the decision.

More about asking for a review.

If you let someone from Ukraine stay with you

If you volunteer for someone from Ukraine to come to the UK and live with you under the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme, it won't change the Council Tax Reduction you get. 

The £350 per month payment from the government will not count as income. 

The income of Ukrainian residents living with you won't be counted.