The term ‘disregarded' for Council Tax purposes means that we do not count the person concerned when we work out the number of people living in the property, there are a number of categories.
When counting the number of adults resident, if there is just one person living in that property or if only one occupant is to be counted, a 25% reduction could apply. If all the residents are 'disregarded' a 50% reduction may apply or a reduction of 100% depending on the circumstances.
An example would be if all of the people living in a property are full time students a reduction of 100% applies but if all but one of the residents is a student a 25% reduction is applicable.
Information regarding different kinds of reduction can be found below together with the relevant forms
Adults who are the only person aged 18 or over in a property
You can get 25% off your bill if you're the only person aged 18 or over living in the property as a main home. This is known as the Single Person Discount. To apply, fill in our online single person discount form .
You must tell us if your circumstances change and you are no longer the only person aged 18 or over living in the property. To notify us, fill in our cancel a single person discount form.
People on benefits or a low income
You might be able to get a reduction in your Council Tax if you are on benefits or a low income. This type of reduction is called Council Tax Support. You apply for Council Tax Support through the benefits system.
Full-time students (including halls of residence)
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if someone in your household is a full-time student.
To count as a full-time student, the person must be one of the following:
- on a university or college course for 24 or more weeks a year for which they have to study at least 21 hours a week during term time
- 18 or 19 years old and on a course that lasts at least 3 months and for which they have to study at least 12 hours a week - evening classes, job-related study and day-release courses don't count
- a student nurse or student midwife
- a foreign language assistant (for example, in a school)
Full-time students: What reduction you might get and how to apply
Where students are living with people who aren’t students, the amount of any reduction is set by the rules for disregard reductions.
Where everyone in the property is a full time student, there might be a 100% reduction so there is nothing to pay. To apply, fill in our online Council Tax exemption form.online Council Tax exemption form
People with severe mental impairments
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if someone in your household has a severe mental impairment.
To get a reduction, the person must be able to get one of these benefits or allowances, even if they don't claim it (for example, because they are of pension age):
- Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)
- Unemployability Supplement
- The disability element of Working Tax Credit
- Disability Living Allowance - higher or middle rate care component
- Attendance Allowance (AA)
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit (IB)
- Increased Disablement Pension for constant attendance
- Income Support that includes a disability premium
- Employment Support Allowance (ESA) (Limited capacity for work related activity)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
How to claim a Council Tax reduction for someone with a severe mental impairment
There are 2 steps to claim this reduction in your Council Tax.
Step 1 - the medical declaration
You will need to download and ask your doctor or medical professional to sign and stamp the medical declaration form (PDF, 240KB) to confirm the impairment.
Step 2 - the application form
You will need to upload
- proof of when your benefit entitlement began
- the completed medical declaration signed by a medical practitioner
You can submit the application before you send the medical declaration form but we won’t be able to assess your claim until the declaration has been uploaded.
Apply for a reduction in Council Tax for severe mental impairment
Long-term hospital patients and care home or hostel residents
There are reductions in Council Tax for households where people have gone into long-term care. People living in residential units that house ex-offenders such as a a bail or probation hostel should use the same form.
Apply for a reduction in Council Tax for people in long term care or in a hostel
Long-term hospital patients: What reduction you might get
Where someone has gone into long-term care or a bail or probation hostel leaving another person living in the property there could be a reduction of 25%
Where everyone from the household has gone into care, there might be a 100% reduction so there is nothing to pay.
People with physical disabilities
If you have a physical disability, or someone with a physical disability lives with you permanently, you might be able to apply for a disabled band reduction. The person can be an adult or a child. We give the reduction by treating the property as if it's in a Council Tax band lower than the actual band. This means if your property is in band B, for example, you only pay the amount of Council Tax for a band A property. If your property is in band A, the lowest band, we will cut your bill by a sixth.
To get a disabled band reduction, the disability must be permanent and substantial, you or the person living with you must live in the property as your main home, and the property must have at least one of these features:
1. Use of a wheelchair indoors
If the person needs to use a wheelchair indoors and doorways and hallways are wide enough for them to do so. Just storing a wheelchair indoors doesn't count. A specialised buggy for a disabled child might count.
2. An extra bathroom or kitchen used to meet the needs of the disabled person
This doesn't need to be used only by the disabled person. A shower room counts as a bathroom, but an extra toilet doesn't.
3. A room other than a bedroom, kitchen or bathroom used mainly to meet the needs of the disabled person.
Please provide photographs of the room you are claiming for. This might be a room used for treatment or therapy, or to store equipment used by the disabled person. A room converted to a bedroom doesn't count, neither does a bedroom you have converted to a bed-sitting room.
Apply for a reduction in Council Tax for physical disabilities
Child Benefit is still being paid for 18 and 19 year-old
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if someone in your household is 18 or 19 years old and child benefit is still being paid for them.
Apply for reduction due to child benefit
Child Benefit for 18 and 19 year-old:
School/College leavers
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if someone in your household is a school/college leaver.
To count as a school/college leaver for Council Tax purposes, the person must be aged 18 or 19 and have left school or college between 1 May and 31 October.
Apply for a Council Tax school or college leaver reduction
School/College leavers:
Carers
People who are a carer for a person they live with can sometimes get a Council Tax reduction.
To count as a carer for a Council Tax reduction, the person must:
- look after someone who is not their husband, wife, partner, or child under 18
- live with the person they are looking after
- care for them at least 35 hours a week
For the carer reduction to apply, the person the carer looks after must be entitled to at least one of these:
- Attendance Allowance (AA)
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - higher or middle rate care component
- increased Disablement Pension
- increased Constant Attendance Allowance
- the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Apply for a Council Tax reduction for a person who is a carer
Carers: What reduction you might get
To find out what reduction you might get, see disregard reductions.
Care leavers
In certain circumstances, we can give reductions for care leavers under the age of 25. To find out if you can get a reduction, contact the Care Leavers team on 01606 271500. This number is only for enquiries about Council Tax reductions for Care Leavers.
Please note the care leaver must have been in the care of Cheshire East Council in order to qualify.
Care workers
Households where there is a live-in care worker can sometimes pay less Council Tax.
To count as a live-in care worker for a Council Tax reduction, the person must be all of these:
- working at least 24 hours a week
- employed by a charity or local authority
- earning no more than £44 a week
For the care worker reduction to apply, the person they care for must be able to get at least one of these:
- Attendance Allowance (AA)
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - higher or middle rate care component
- increased Disablement Pension
- increased Constant Attendance Allowance
- the daily living component of the highest rate of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Apply for a Council Tax reduction for a person who is a live-in care worker
Apprentices and youth trainees
You might be able to pay less Council tax if there are one or more apprentices or youth trainees in your household.
To count as an apprentice or youth trainee, the person must be all of these:
- under 25
- studying for a recognised qualification (for example, recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA))
- Earning less than £195 per week net
Apply for a Council Tax reduction for apprentices and youth trainees
Apprentices and youth trainees:
People in detention
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if someone who normally lives in your household is in prison or has been detained under the Mental Health Act or under immigration law.
Apply for a Council Tax reduction for people in detention
People in detention:
Job-related second homes
You might be able to get a reduction if you are living in a furnished home provided by an employer and you have another home somewhere else. You can only get a reduction if there is a job-related need for you to live in the specific property the employer provides. An example would be a pub landlord living in a flat above the pub. Someone who has moved just to be nearer to their place of employment does not qualify
Apply for a reduction in Council Tax for a job related second home
Job-related second homes:
Everyone is under 18
If there is no one aged 18 years or over in the property, you might not have to pay Council Tax.
Apply for a Council Tax reduction as everyone in the household is under 18 years old
Annexes lived in by relatives
Where an annexe gets a separate Council Tax bill, you might be entitled to a reduction if the person who lives there is related to the people in the main house.
Dependent relatives
Where the relative is dependent, you don't have to pay any Council Tax for the annexe.
A relative is dependent if they're any of these:
- over the age of 65
- substantially or permanently disabled
- severely mentally impaired
Apply for a reduction in Council Tax for relatives living in an annexe
Other relatives
If the relative doesn't count as dependent, you might still be entitled to a reduction. We will work out the reduction depending upon your circumstances.
Members of religious communities
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if you are a member of a religious community.
To count as a member of a religious community, you must depend on the religious community for your material needs. You can't have any income or capital of your own, except a pension from a former job. Your religious community must be mainly involved in:
- prayer or contemplation
- education
- caring or similar charitable work
Apply for a reduction in Council Tax for living in a religious community
Religious communities:
Partners and dependants of overseas students
You might be able to pay less Council Tax if someone in your household is a partner or adult dependent of an overseas student. To count for the reduction the person must be prevented from taking paid work or claiming benefits.
Apply for a Council Tax reduction for partners and dependents of overseas students
What you might get
Where the only people in a property are students or partners or other dependants of an overseas student, you might get a 100% reduction so you pay no Council Tax.
Foreign Diplomats
If you are a foreign diplomat you might be able to get a reduction of 100% in your Council Tax so you pay nothing. You can only get the reduction if you are the person liable for Council Tax.
You can't get a diplomat reduction if you are a British citizen or subject, Dependent Territories citizen, National Overseas citizen, protected person, or permanent UK resident.
To apply, download and return the completed Diplomat claim form (PDF, 635KB)
Members of visiting armed forces, international headquarters and defence organisations
Council Tax is not payable if at least one person who would normally be liable to pay the Council Tax is a member of a visiting force.
A person is classed as a member of a visiting force if they are:
- a member of that force, or a member of a civilian component of the force; or
- a dependant of a member, provided that the dependant is not a British citizen or normally resident in the UK.
Visiting armed forces: What reduction you might get and how to apply
Where a member or dependent of the member of a visiting army is the person liable for Council Tax they might get a reduction of 100%, which means there is no Council Tax to pay. You can't get the reduction if you are a British citizen or are ordinarily resident in the UK.
Where a member or dependent of the member of a visiting army is the person liable for Council Tax they might get a reduction of 100%, which means there is no Council Tax to pay. You can't get the reduction if you are a British citizen or are ordinarily resident in the UK. To apply for this reduction or as a member of international headquarters/defence organisation download the Members of international Headquarters/Defence Organisations and Visiting Forces Visiting forces form (PDF, 222KB).
Property held as living accommodation for UK armed forces and owned by the Secretary of State for defence can get a reduction of 100% so there is no Council Tax to pay. The reduction applies whether the property is occupied or not.
To apply, download and fill in our UK Armed forces form (PDF, 320KB)
We'll get back to you once we have looked at your claim. This can take up to 20 working days. It might take longer if we have to visit your property or need more information.
You must let us know straightaway if anything you have told us changes.
Reductions will show on your bill as for the whole year even when they are only for a fixed time period. We will send you a new bill when the reduction is coming to an end.