More council tax information

Part 2: Discounts and reductions

Part 3: Weekly income and capital

Part 4: Crucial calculations

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Discounts on council tax - part four

To work out your weekly council tax write down the annual amount of council tax you have to pay (in Scotland subtract the water and sewerage charges first).

Remember to take off any reductions you are entitled to if you live alone or for disability. They are explained above. Divide that annual council tax figure by 365 and multiply by 7 to give your weekly council tax.

Calculate
Make sure you have three figures: your personal allowance, your weekly income, and your weekly council tax. You work out your Council Tax Benefit in four steps.

1. Write down your weekly income.
2. Subtract your personal allowance.
3. Divide the result by 5.
4. Subtract the answer from your net weekly council tax.

If the answer is more than zero, that is the amount of your Council Tax Benefit. If the answer is more than your council tax then you will get it all paid. You may get less council tax benefit if there are other adults, apart from your partner, living with you.

If the answer is zero or a negative number then you will probably not get any council tax benefit.

This method of doing the calculation is not foolproof. If you think that you might get Council Tax Benefit, go to your local council office and ask for a claim form. The form has been made much simpler and may now be just three pages long.

Discounts on Council Tax - part five

This article was created: 15 November 2006.
This article was last edited: 19 March 2007.

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