Council Tax and Council Tax Benefits

What is Council Tax?

Most of the cost of local services is met by the Government in the formula grant and business rates. On average a third of the cost of local services is met by Council Tax. The Council Tax is a tax on residents in an area. The Council Tax bill is based upon your Council Tax banding figure (which relates to the capital value of your property in 1991).

Council Tax valuation bands

Virtually all dwellings are subject to Council Tax. Dwellings are allocated into 1 of 8 bands according to the open market capital value at 1st April 1991. The bands are as follows:

Valuation Band	Range of Values
A	Up to and including £40,000
B	£40,001 to £52,000
C	£52,001 to £68,000
D	£68,001 to £88,000
E	£88,001 to £120,000
F	£120,001 to £160,000
G	£161,001 to £320,000
H	More than £320,000

The valuation band for your property is shown on your bill. If you have a query about your property banding contact:

The Listing Officer
Leicester Valuation Office
Enkalon House
92 Regent Road
Leicester
LE1 7DD
Telephone: 0116 280 0200

How does it work?

In Leicestershire the Council Tax is calculated by adding together the amounts required by:

Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire Police Authority
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Combined Fire Authority
The District (Borough) Council
Parish Council (if applicable)

In Leicestershire your District or Borough Council will be one of the following:

Blaby
Charnwood
Harborough
Hinckley & Bosworth
Melton
North West Leicestershire
Oadby &Wigston

The District (Borough) Council is responsible for issuing Council Tax bills and collecting the money from Council Taxpayers to the County Council, Police Authority and Parish Council.

Who to contact?

If you have a query about your Council Tax bill or what benefits, discounts or exemptions are available you should contact the District Council of the area in which you live. The contact details are available through our Service Index, click on the link below to access the information:

Service Index - Council Tax Information

Council Tax exemptions

Several classes of dwellings are exempt from Council Tax. Examples are given below:

Properties occupied solely:

by someone who is under 18 years old
by someone or all occupants, who are severely mentally impaired
by students

Unoccupied properties that:

are unfurnished (exempt for up to 6 months)
are owned by a charity (exempt for up to 6 months)
are unfurnished and require or are undergoing structural alteration or major repair (exempt for up to 12 months)
are left unoccupied by someone who has gone to prison, or who has moved to receive personal care in a hospital, home or elsewhere
are left unoccupied by someone who has moved in order to receive personal care or provide personal care to another person
are waiting for probate or letters of administration to be granted
have been repossessed
are unoccupied because their occupation is forbidden by law
are waiting to be occupied by a minister of religion
are the responsibility of bankrupt’s trustee
are dwellings left unoccupied by a student owner

Other dwellings:

can be described as an annexe to a dwelling, for example a ‘granny flat’ occupied by an elderly or disabled relative of the main dwelling resident.
student halls of residence
armed forces accommodation
an empty caravan pitch or houseboat mooring
where at least one liable person had diplomatic, commonwealth or consular privilege or immunity.
an unoccupied dwelling forming part of a single property and which may not be let separately without a breach of planning control.

Council Tax discounts

The full Council Tax bill assumes that there are at least 2 living adults in a dwelling. If a property has only 1 adult resident, the Council Tax is reduced by 25% (only persons aged 18 or over and who have their sole or main residence in a property are classed as residents for Council Tax purposes).

If you live alone or are the only adult who lives in a property please check your Council Tax bill to make sure that you have been given a 25% discount.

If no one lives in a dwelling as the main home the bill can be reduced by up to 50%. This can apply to empty dwellings and second homes. However this may change in the future. Your district council should be able to help.

A discount may also be available to households of 2 or more adult residents. This is because certain people are not counted as residents (for Council Tax purposes) if they fall into special categories. These include:

full time students attending a college or university, student nurses, foreign language assistants and foreign spouses or dependants of students,
apprentices and youth training trainees, people aged 18 if child benefit is payable and recent school and college leavers under 20,
people in prison (except those in prison for non payment of Council Tax or a fine),
people who are severely mentally impaired,
careworkers providing care on behalf of an official or charitable body,
careworkers introduced by a charitable body,
careworkers caring for someone with a disability who is not spouse, partner or own child under 18,
people in residential care home, nursing homes and hostels providing high level of care (application to be made by establishment),
diplomats and members of international organisations headquartered in UK and their non British spouses,
members of religious communities (monks and nuns),
long-term patient resident in hospital,
members of Visiting Forces.

People with disabilities

If you or someone who lives with you has a disability, which has required an adaptation to be made to your dwelling to help meet the needs of the disabled person, you may be entitled to a reduction in your bill. This adaptation need not be a physical alteration to the property, for example the use of an existing bedroom to store equipment necessary for the treatment and/or therapy of the disabled person.

For properties banded A to H the reduction will be equivalent to a rebanding of the property into the band immediately below that shown in the valuation list. For band A properties the Council Tax charge will be reduced by 1/9th.

If you think that you may be entitled to a discount please contact the District/ Borough Council where you live at the numbers listed above.

Council Tax benefits

If you are an owner occupier, a private or council tenant and are on a low income you may be able to receive help towards paying your Council Tax bill. Council Tax benefit is dependent on individual circumstances including:

your age
your family circumstances (single, married with children etc.)
your income (wages, salaries, benefits, allowances, savings, capital etc.)
other adults living with you.

Further advice on eligibility to receive and obtain Council Tax benefits can be obtained from the District/Borough Council where you live at the numbers listed above.