Council Tax Reduction eligibility 2023/2024

From 1 April 2013, Council Tax Benefit was replaced by localised schemes. In Wandsworth this is called the Council Tax reduction (CTR) scheme.

CTR is to help people who are on a low income to pay part or all of their Council Tax. The Government requires us to protect the claiming process for pension age claimants so there are two CTR schemes in place:

1. The prescribed scheme for Pensioners
2. Wandsworth's Local CTR scheme for Working Age Claimants.

Eligibility

To qualify for CTR, you must be: 

• On a low income 
• Responsible for the Council Tax payment on your address

You can claim CTR whether you are working, unemployed, disabled, single, married etc. However, there may be some exceptions for example: 

• You have come to live in the UK from abroad and have restrictions on your status 
• You are a full time student 
• You live in residential care or nursing home 
• You have savings over £16,000 

The amount of reduction you get depends on your circumstances and how much Council Tax you pay. You can use our Council Tax Support calculator for an estimate.

Our local scheme 2023/2024

The 2023/2024 Wandsworth scheme includes the following points: 

Under the 2023/2024 CTR scheme working age households will be required to make a minimum contribution of 30% towards their Council Tax liability.

The following households will be protected from the minimum contribution:

• Households that receive a Disability Premium within their CTR claim (for either claimant, partner or dependent child) 
• Households that receive a Carer’s Premium within their CTR claim (claimant or partner) 
• Households where the claimant or partner are within the ‘Support Group’ for Employment Support Allowance 
• Households receiving a Disability Banding Reduction from Council Tax 
• Households receiving either War Disablement Pension or War Widows Pension (either claimant or partner) 
• Households containing a dependent child aged under 3 years old
• Households entitled to the Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Work-related activity (LCWRA)