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.
Who can apply
- If you and all the adults living in a property are full-time students, you can apply for an exemption from Council Tax
- If one or more of the people living in the property are full-time students, you can get a reduction in your Council Tax
- If one of the adults living in the property is not a full-time student, you could get a discount of up to 25%. The non-student would need to pay the rest of the bill
- If more than one adult living in the property are not full-time students, you would not get a reduction. The full charge would need to be paid by the non-students
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 20 or under, 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: