A person who owns or rents their home will usually be liable to pay council tax to their local council.
Some people in a household will be ‘disregarded’ for council tax purposes. When a member of a household is disregarded, a discount to the council tax bill may be applied.
For example, a person will get 25% off their council tax bill if they live on their own or everyone else in the home is disregarded.
Some households will not be required to pay any council tax and may be able to apply for an exemption. For example, if all the members of a household are full-time students, then an exemption may be available. A list of people who are disregarded and how this may affect the amount that needs to be paid, as well as information about when an exemption will apply, is available on gov.uk.
Council tax discounts and exemptions are not ‘public funds’ for immigration purposes, and therefore can be accessed by a person with no recourse to public funds if they meet the qualifying criteria.
Council tax support (also known as 'council tax reduction') is a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. Therefore a person with no recourse to public funds cannot claim this.
