Are full-time students disregarded for Council Tax?
Full-time students are disregarded for Council Tax, which means they are not counted when working out how many adults live in a home. This can reduce or remove a bill depending on who else lives there. You prove your status with a certificate from your university or college.
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Check what you're owed →A disregarded student is not part of the adult count for Council Tax. If a student lives with one non-student adult, a discount usually applies because only one countable adult remains. The student status itself does not depend on income.
To count as a full-time student, your course generally needs to last at least an academic year and involve a set amount of study or tuition. Your institution can issue a Council Tax exemption certificate confirming you meet the definition, which the council will ask to see.
Where a household is made up only of full-time students, a separate exemption may apply to the property rather than a discount. It is worth confirming your exact situation with the council, and checking whether anyone else in the home qualifies for a disregard or other reduction too.
How to claim the student Council Tax disregard
- Get your student certificate. Request a Council Tax exemption certificate from your university or college student services.
- Check who else lives there. Work out whether others in the home are also students or otherwise disregarded.
- Tell the council. Submit the certificate to your local council and apply for the relevant discount or exemption.
- Confirm the outcome. Check the revised bill to make sure the disregard or exemption has been applied correctly.
Frequently asked questions
- Do students pay any Council Tax?
- A disregarded student is not counted as an adult, so in an all-student home there is usually nothing to pay, while in a mixed home a discount typically applies.
- What proves I am a full-time student?
- Your university or college can provide a Council Tax certificate confirming your course meets the full-time definition, which you give to the council.
- Does a part-time course count?
- Generally no. The disregard is for full-time courses meeting the study and duration rules, though some other groups such as certain young people may also be disregarded.
- I live with one working adult. What happens?
- Only the working adult is counted, so the household is usually entitled to a single adult discount rather than a full exemption.
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