You can apply for the disabled person discount for Council Tax through Edinburgh Council or Midlothian Council.
Visit Citizens Advice Scotland for more advice on Council Tax reductions and discounts.
There is also more information available on the Scottish government website.
For an overview of Council Tax Reduction Council Tax Reduction (CTR) and discounts and how to find your local council to apply to, visit the UK government website.
Here we have listed the discounts relevant to carers.
Council Tax Reduction
You can apply for a Council Tax Reduction if you:
- Have savings of less than £16,000
- Are responsible for paying Council Tax (your name is on the bill)
- And have a low income from benefits or work, including self-employment
You can apply for this through Edinburgh Council or Midlothian Council.
Disabled person discount
If you or anyone else in your home has a permanent and substantial disability, you are eligible for a Council Tax discount. This applies to adults and children.
To receive this discount, you must show that your home has either:
- An extra kitchen or bathroom for the specific needs of the disabled person
- An extra room (not a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) that is mainly used by the disabled person and is required to meet their additional needs
- Or enough indoor space for the disabled person to use a wheelchair. The wheelchair must be needed for day-to-day living indoors
And the impact of this room must be of major importance to the disabled person’s wellbeing, because either:
- Their health would suffer
- The disability would be likely to become more severe
- Or they would find it physically impossible or extremely difficult to live in the dwelling
Discount if some people in your home are “disregarded”
If only one adult living in a property is liable to pay Council Tax (meaning their name is on the bill) and everyone else is disregarded, then a single person’s discount applies. This is 25% off.
A person is “disregarded” and doesn’t have to pay Council Tax if they are either:
- Age 17 or under
- Severely mentally impaired
- A live-in carer of someone entitled to certain benefits*. This doesn’t apply if the person you’re caring for is your spouse, partner or child aged under 18. You must be providing care for at least 35 hours a week
- A long-term hospital patient and care home resident
- Living in the property temporarily, and it’s not their normal home
- Living in a hostel which provides care or treatment because they’re older, disabled, have past or present alcohol or drug dependence or past or present mental illness
*These benefits include: the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, and income-related Employment Support Allowance.
