Discounts and exemptions
Contents
- Introduction
- Single person discount
- Student
- Severely mentally impaired person (SMI)
- Care leavers
- Carer
- Apprentice, youth trainee or skill seeker
- Disability banding relief
- Person in hospital or care home
- Person in detention or prison
- People who provide care or who are cared for
- Person for whom child benefit is payable
- People under the age of 18
- Unoccupied and unfurnished property
- Unoccupied and furnished property discount (not a second home)
- Changes for second homes
- Estate of deceased person
- Spouse, civil partner, or dependent of foreign student
- School leaver
- Religious communities
- Manse or similar dwelling
- Dwelling repossessed by a mortgage lender
- Job-related dwellings
- Occupation prohibited by law/dwellings empty under statute
- Trustee in bankruptcy
- Voluntary care worker
- Visiting forces accommodation
- Ukraine refugees
Student
A student discount or exemption is based on the number of adults (18 or over) who are resident in a property and are full-time students.
Please note: you will need to apply for this exemption/discount as it is not automatically granted.
Who can apply?
For the purposes of council tax, a full-time student is:
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Someone undertaking a specified full-time course at a College or University in the UK or an EU state for a minimum 21 hours or more per week for at least 24 weeks; or
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Someone under 20 in non-advanced education undertaking a course or courses lasting at least 12 hours or more a week for more than 3 months. (a ‘non-advanced course’ is one below the level of a foundation degree, honours degree, HNC, HND or NVQ/SVQ level 4. It includes Scottish Advanced Highers, National Diplomas and National Certificates.)
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You will also be classed as a student if you are registered with the British Council as a foreign language assistant and work in a school or other educational establishment.
Amount of discount you may be eligible for
Students are exempt from paying council tax. This means that if you are a student and live on your own or only with students, your household will not have to pay council tax. If there is one person in your household who is not a student, they will qualify for a 25% discount.
If you study at one of the following education establishments the required evidence of your student status can be sent electronically to us on the condition that you have completed the steps on your student portal.
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University West of Scotland
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New College Lanarkshire
Otherwise, you will be required to provide a copy of your Student Certificate which details your full name, your term-time address and home address, course of study, qualification you are studying towards, start and end date of your course. If you do not have this, please contact your university/college for a copy (screenshots of Student I.D., Bursary Letters, or offers of a place on your course cannot be accepted).
If you withdraw or complete your course of study mid-way throughout the academic year, you will be liable for payment of council tax from the date you cease being a full-time student.
We periodically review all exemptions and discounts to confirm ongoing eligibility.
How do I apply?
To apply for this exemption/discount, sign in or register on our Open Portal account:
We kindly request you to submit the necessary supporting evidence for your application. Please be informed that failure to provide the requested documentation may result in the assessment of your application being delayed or rejected. We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.
Please note: if you are awarded a discount or exemption and the circumstances that led to that change, you must tell us.
