Council tax benefit (CTB) helps people pay their council tax.
There are two types of CTB, but you can only get one type at a time.
- 'Main Council Tax Benefit' (Main CTB) is the more common type and is described below.
- 'Second Adult Rebate' is much less common.
WHO CAN GET MAIN CTB?
You can get Main CTB if you satisfy all the following conditions:
- You are not excluded from getting Main CTB - see below
- You are liable to pay council tax on your normal home
- You claim and provide the information requested
- You are on income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, the guarantee credit of pension credit, or you have a fairly low income
- Your capital is no more than £16,000 (with the exception of some pensioners)
PEOPLE WHO CANNOT GET MAIN CTB.
The following groups are excluded altogether from getting Main CTB.
- 'Persons from abroad' or 'persons subject to immigration control' (This does not include every non-UK national, but it does cover some UK nationals who do not habitually reside in the UK).
- Many full-time students - Full-time students cannot get Main CTB unless they fall within certain groups (although they can get second adult rebate). Many students with disabilities do, however, fall within one of those groups. If you are in a couple and only one of you is a full-time student, the other can get Main CTB for you both.
HOW MUCH OF YOUR COUNCIL TAX IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT?
The CTB calculation is based on your weekly 'eligible council tax'. For Main CTB, this means whatever you are liable to pay after you have been awarded a reduction for disabilities or discount.
CTB is worked out on a weekly basis, so your council tax liability has to be converted. Divide the annual figure by 365 (giving a daily figure), then multiply by 7. If your bill is not for a full year, divide it by the number of days it covers, then multiply by 7.
HOW TO CLAIM CTB
If you are claiming employment and support allowance (ESA), income support, JSA or pension credit, you will normally be sent a claim form. Complete the form and send it to your Local Authority. If you are not claiming one of the benefits above, you should ask your Local Authority for an application form, complete it and return it to them within one month.
TELEPHONE CLAIMS
You can now claim CTB over the phone at the same time that you make a claim for ESA, income support, JSA or pension credit. The relevant DWP office will take your details over the phone and send you a statement of your circumstances to sign and return to them. They will then forward the details to your Local Authority.
ASKING THE AUTHORITY TO REVISE THEIR DECISION
You have the right to ask your local authority to revise their decision on almost all matters relating to your CTB claim (for example, how much you qualify for, whether you should have to repay an overpayment, and so on).
If your letter arrives within the 'dispute period' (see below), your local authority must reconsider their decision, taking account of what you say. They should give you a written notice saying whether they are changing or sticking to their original decision, and giving their reasons.
APPEALS TO A TRIBUNAL
Either instead of, or after, asking your local authority to revise a decision (see above), you can appeal to an independent appeal tribunal.
EXCEPTIONS
There is no right of appeal to a tribunal about:
- Most administrative decisions about claims and payments of CTB, although you can appeal to a tribunal about when your CTB should begin and whether your claim should be backdated.
- Whether your Local Authority should run a local scheme for War Widow/Widower's pensions and War Disablement pensions.
- Discretionary housing payments.
In each case, though, you can ask the local authority to revise their decision.
THE DISPUTE PERIOD
Whether you are asking the local authority to revise a decision or asking for an appeal, your letter should reach your local authority within one calendar month of the day they sent out the notice about the decision.
If you have asked for a revision and a written statement, the time they took to deal with that is ignored in adding up the month. If you are appealing the decision, you have 14 days from the date of the written statement is sent to ask for an appeal.
Also, your local authority (or the tribunal, in the case of an appeal) can agree to extend the one-month time limit if you have a good reason for your delay. If you do have a good reason for delaying more than a month, explain this when you write in, as otherwise this may not be taken into account.
In all cases, 13 months is the absolute limit for asking for the decision to be changed.
DIAL Disclaimer
Whilst all the information given in this document was correct at the time of going to press, DIAL Doncaster cannot be held responsible for any subsequent changes.
