What is Council Tax Support?

Council Tax Support is a new local system of help for people who pay council tax. It will replace the current national system of support for people who can’t afford to pay a full council tax bill.

From April 2013, local councils will set their own rules to suit the needs of their local area by introducing Council Tax Reduction schemes, and will decide which groups of people to help. There will still be some rules set by the UK government, including help for pensioners.

Under the current system, the government pays the bill for council tax benefits, discounts, exemptions and reductions. Under the new system, each council will have a pot of money to share out between people who may need help. Each council will be able to decide which groups of people it will help and how much help to offer.

The amount of money available to pay for council tax support will be 10% less than for council tax benefit. Local councils won’t be able to cut the money they pay to certain pensioners, so may have less money to help people of working age on low incomes in their areas.