Discounts and exemptions

Student discounts

The full council tax bill assumes that there are 2 adults residing in a dwelling. For council tax purposes, certain people are not counted in the total number of adults. The discount may be 25% to 50%.

To qualify for student discount, the person must be either:

  • attending a full-time course of further or higher education at a university, college or other educational establishment. The course must be at least a 1 year duration and involve at least 21 hours attendance per week for at least 24 weeks in the year; or
  • under 20 years of age and attending a course which lasts more than 3 calendar months and involves at least 12 hours attendance per week between 8am and 5.30pm. The course must not be undertaken by correspondence or in consequence of the person's job nor must it be a course of higher education.

Note: A property which is occupied by one or more residents, all of whom are students, is exempt from council tax.

Holidays

The person will continue to be disregarded throughout the whole period of their course which includes vacations between terms.

For how long will the discount be allowed?

For as long as there are less than 2 adults in the property who are not disregarded (not counted when we work out the number of people living there). If there is any change in circumstances then you must notify the address shown overleaf. Failure to do so may result in a penalty being imposed.

Apply for student discount

You need to provide us with a student certificate for each person, issued by the certification officer at their college/university.

This certificate should have the following information:

  • the amount of hours they study each week
  • the start date of the course
  • the end date of the course
  • the full name of the student
  • the name and address of the university/college
  • the official stamp of the university/college
Page last updated: 22 Feb 2023