In April 2013, the Government abolished the national Council Tax Benefit scheme for working age customers and asked each Council to replace it with a local scheme called Council Tax Support, now called Council Tax Reduction.

Council Tax Reduction is a local scheme designed to help people on low incomes pay their Council Tax. Pensioner claims for Council Tax Reduction are determined according to a national scheme, which is set by the government.

Pension Age Council Tax Reduction

The national scheme compares a customer's income and capital to an applicable amount, which is the amount the government says a person needs to live on - based on their age, household and any disability. Under the national scheme, a customer can receive up to 100% help towards their Council Tax. A non-dependant deduction for other adults in the property, other than the customer and their partner, usually reduces entitlement - the amount depending on the non-dependant's income. No non-dependant deduction is taken if the customer or their partner is in receipt of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance Care Component or the Daily Living part of Personal Independence Payment.

Unlike Housing Benefit and other state benefits, only one member of a couple needs to be of pension age to be considered under the pension age Council Tax Reduction scheme. The exception is if the couple receive a working age benefit, such as Universal Credit, Income-Based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support Allowance or Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance. Visit the GOV.UK website to check your State Pension age.

Visit the GOV.UK website for details of independent and free-to-use benefits calculators to calculate an estimate of the pension age Council Tax Reduction you may be entitled to. These calculators will also give an estimate of Housing Benefit.

State Pension age customers may be entitled to Pension Credit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions. Visit the GOV.UK website to find out if you're eligible for Pension Credit.

Working Age Scheme from April 2020

Following a consultation in Autumn 2019, the council's Council Tax Reduction Scheme (formerly known as Council Tax Support) for working age customers changed to an Income Grid-based scheme from 1 April 2020.

Some of the main features of the working age scheme are:

  • the capital limit is £6,000 - anyone with capital above this level won't qualify
  • there are no non-dependant deductions
  • those who have been self-employed for more than 12 months and who are earning less than the equivalent rate of 30 hours at the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage for those aged 25 or over), minus the relevant amount of tax, National Insurance and 50% of any pension contribution, will have this level of self-employed income applied to their claim
  • claims and changes of circumstances take effect from either the date they are received or the date the change happened
  • claims can be backdated for up to 3 months from when the request is received.

Income Grid 2025/2026 (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026)

This table shows the amount of discount a customer will get in the 2025/2026 scheme based on theirs and their partner's total income and family circumstances; a list of income disregards follows this table.
Council Tax Reduction level Passported @ Single + Couples + Families with one child + Families with two or more children +
Level 1 - 90% Relevant Benefit £0 to £92.83 £0 to £146.06 £0 to £225.30 £0 to £305.76
Level 2 - 75% Not applicable £92.84 to £129.97 £146.07 to £189.39 £225.31 to £274.81 £305.77 to £361.47
Level 3 - 50% Not applicable £129.98 to £167.11 £189.40 to £232.72 £274.82 to £324.33 £361.48 to £417.17
Level 4 - 25% Not applicable £167.12 to £204.24 £232.73 to £276.04 £324.34 to £373.84 £417.18 to £472.88
@ Passported / Relevant Benefit; includes customers on Income-Based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, and Income Support.
+ Weekly eligible income; all income received by the applicant and any partner, excluding any income detailed in the income disregards listed below.

Income disregards

Benefits

The following benefits are disregarded in full when working out a customer and their partner's total weekly eligible income:

  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Bereavement Support Payment for one month
  • Carer's Allowance, Child Benefit
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment
  • Support component of Employment and Support Allowance
  • Universal Credit Housing Costs (pro-rata amount where full Universal Credit is not being paid)
  • War Widow(er)'s Pension
  • War Disablement Pension, including Service Attributable Pensions.

Earnings

Tax, National Insurance and 50% of any pension contributions are disregarded from earned income. In addition, the first £20 of earnings are disregarded per claim where the claimant or partner are working. Only one £20 earnings disregard is applied per couple.

Download the Council Tax Reduction Scheme policy for 2025/2026 from 1 April 2025 for full details of all applicable income disregards (.pdf Size: 1215Kb)

Apply for Council Tax Reduction

View information on how to apply for Council Tax Reduction

Hardship

If a customer of either working or pension age cannot afford the shortfall between their weekly Council Tax Reduction and their weekly Council Tax liability, they can apply for Council Tax Reduction Hardship Assistance. Those in receipt of Universal Credit but whose income is too high to qualify for Council Tax Reduction can also apply for Council Tax Reduction Hardship. View the Council Tax Reduction Hardship Assistance page for more details on this scheme.

Policy documents

Last updated : 22 May 2025

Universal Credit customers

Most working age customers will need to claim Universal Credit for help with their rent from 14 November 2018. View our Housing Benefit eligibility page for more information about claiming as a Universal Credit customer.

Universal Credit will not cover Council Tax, so if you need help to pay your Council Tax, you will need to start a claim for Council Tax Reduction. If you are in receipt of Universal Credit or have made a claim and are only making a claim for Council Tax Reduction please use our short online form to make a claim for Council Tax Reduction.

In most cases we can verify your Universal Credit income directly with the Department for Work and Pensions. If you are entitled to Council Tax Reduction, you will receive a new Council Tax bill showing your entitlement. If you are not entitled, we will write to you. This will be by email if you have provided us with an email address.

Complete our online form for Council Tax Reduction for Universal Credit customers

Non-Universal Credit Customers and Pension Age Customers

If you are making a claim for Council Tax Reduction and you are not in receipt of Universal Credit, the quickest way to make an intention to claim is to complete our online form. Please read our Introduction page for details about eligibility.

You will be asked questions about your personal circumstances and be told what evidence you will need to provide.

At the end of the form, you'll be able to book an appointment for a Benefit Assessment Officer to call you back to complete your application. If you are not able to go online, please contact us on 01952 383838 and an appointment will be made for you.

Intention to claim online forms

There are separate online forms for customers of working age and those who have reached State Pension age. Visit the GOV.UK website to check your State Pension age. Unlike Housing Benefit and most state benefits, only one member of a couple needs to have reached State Pension age to be classed as State Pension age. The exception is if, as a couple, you receive a working age benefit, e.g. Universal Credit, then you will need to complete the working age form.

Complete our online intention to claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction (working age) form

Complete the online intention to claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction (State Pension age) form

It is important that you provide the correct information when asked on the form and during the appointment so that we can accurately calculate your entitlement.

Please make sure that you have all of your personal details ready when you complete the form, including:

  • your National Insurance number and that of your partner, if you have one
  • the full address that you want to claim for, including postcode
  • details of the income you and your partner receive. If you are State Pension age, you will also need the income details of any non-dependants who live with you (a non-dependant is an adult, such as a relative or friend, who does not live with you on a commercial basis)
  • if you or your partner are working, the name of your employer, date you started work, number of hours you normally work and how often you are paid
  • the full name(s) and date(s) of birth of everyone who lives with you
  • if you or your partner is not a British Citizen, the details of yours or their work history for the last two years.

What happens after I submit my form?

When you submit your form, you will be sent two emails. One will confirm the date and time of your telephone appointment. The second will confirm the evidence we will need to see. Whenever possible, please email this information to us at benefit.service@telford.gov.uk in advance of your appointment. Please also remember to include your name and address in the email.

It would also be useful if you could include the reference number you were sent in our appointment confirmation email. This will begin with an “e” and be followed by six numbers, for example e-123456.

Documents you will need to support your claim

Details of the documents you will need to provide if this is your first claim in the Telford and Wrekin area.
EVIDENCE EXAMPLE DOCUMENT TO SUPPLY
National Insurance number National Insurance card, National Insurance confirmation letter, payslip, benefit award letter. If we need you to provide proof of your National Insurance Number, we will discuss this with you at your telephone appointment.
Identity Passport, driving licence, medical card, birth certificate, utility bill for your current address, marriage or adoption certificate, divorce document. If we need you to provide proof of your identity, we will discuss this with you at your telephone appointment.
Details of the documents you will need to provide for all claims.
EVIDENCE EXAMPLE DOCUMENT TO SUPPLY
Earnings We can usually check the amount of your or your partner’s earnings with HMRC. If we are unable to check your earnings, we will discuss this with you at your telephone appointment.

If you have just started work, we will accept your Contract of Employment and the number of hours you are contracted-for to work out an estimate of your pay. You will then need to provide your first two months or five weeks payslips when you receive them.
Benefits and pensions We can usually check most Benefits paid by the DWP directly with them so that you don't need to provide evidence. We can also check most occupational pensions with HMRC. We will let you know at the telephone appointment if you need to provide proof.

If we need to see proof, we will ask you to provide a benefit award/entitlement letter, pension advice/pay slip, bank statement showing regular payment.
Bank accounts other capital and properties Last three monthly statements for each account, Post Office/savings book, premium bond certificate, stocks and shares certificates.

Proof of ownership, mortgage, property valuation.

If you rent out a property, you need to provide proof of the rent you receive from your tenant.
Dependant children Name, date of birth and child benefit proof for each child.
Non-dependants Name, date of birth, National Insurance number and income details. If you are only claiming working age Council Tax Reduction, we will not need details of your non-dependant’s income.

What will happen during the telephone appointment?

Important: Please ensure that you have your phone switched on, charged and are ready to accept our call as we won't be able to complete your claim if we can't contact you.

When a Benefit Assessment Officer contacts you, they will:

  • check your details, your household details, income and capital with you
  • once all of the required information has been provided, assess your entitlement to Council Tax Reduction and give you details about how much you are entitled to
  • if you have been unable to email us proof of your income and capital, discuss with you how you could provide this.

Are you already receiving Council Tax Reduction?

Complete our change in circumstances online form if you wish to report a change in your circumstances and are already receiving Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction

Do you need to apply for Universal Credit?

Visit the Universal Credit website for more information and to make a claim

Last updated : 22 May 2025