Apply for student Council Tax discount or exemption

Full-time students do not have to pay Council Tax. Students can apply for a discount or exemption, depending on who else lives at the property with them.

If you and all the adults living in a property are full-time students, you can apply for an exemption from Council Tax. 

You can get a reduction in your Council Tax if one or more of the people living in the property are full-time students. 

If one of the adults living in the property is not a full-time student, then you could get a discount of up to 25% and the non-student would need to pay the rest of the bill. 

If more than 1 of the adults living in the property are non-students, you would not get a reduction and the full charge would need to be paid by the non-students. 

Who can apply

To count as a full-time student, you must be on a course:

  • lasting at least one year 
  • involving a minimum of 21 hours study per week

If you study for a qualification up to A level and you’re under 20, your course must: 

  • last at least three months involve at least 12 hours study per week

Courses that are not included for discount or exemption:

  • evening classes  
  • courses taken as part of your job, eg day release

How to apply

  • You will need a MyAccount with the added Council Tax service. 
  • You need to upload a Council Tax student certificate for each student living in the property: You can get these from your place of education. 
  • The form will take about 10 minutes to complete: You will be able to save and resume the form later if you need to. 
  • It can take up to 7 days before you get a response from us. 

Apply for Student Council Tax discount or exemption

For help with your application, or to upload supporting documents: