Second adult rebate
Second adult rebate, sometimes called alternative maximum Council Tax Reduction, is help for a different situation from main Council Tax Reduction. It applies when you, the person liable for the bill, cannot qualify for a reduction on your own income — perhaps because your income or capital is too high — but you share your home with another adult who is on a low income. In that case the rebate is worked out on the second adult's circumstances, not yours, and your own income and capital are ignored.
Who counts as a second adult
A second adult is someone aged 18 or over who lives with you, is not your partner, does not pay you rent or board, is not jointly liable for the council tax, and is not disregarded for council tax purposes. Typical second adults are an adult son or daughter, another relative, or a friend living with you on a non-commercial basis. A partner can never be a second adult, and neither can a tenant, a boarder, a joint tenant, or a person who is disregarded — such as a full-time student — because disregarded people do not count towards the bill in the first place. If you have a partner who is disregarded for council tax purposes, for example because they are a student, you may still be able to claim the rebate on the basis of another adult in the household.
How much the rebate is worth
The rebate is a percentage of your council tax charge. The maximum is 25% in the usual case. The percentages below are the framework figures used by many English councils for the pension-age scheme and reflected in many working-age schemes, drawn from councils' published tables. They are not a single national table that every council must follow, and Scotland uses different income thresholds, so confirm your council's current table before relying on these figures.
| Second adult's situation | Rebate |
|---|---|
| Receives Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit | 25% |
| Not on those benefits, combined gross weekly income below £289 | 15% |
| Combined gross weekly income from £289 to £374.99 | 7.5% |
| Combined gross weekly income of £375 or more | Nil |
Where there is more than one second adult, their combined gross income is used. Gross income means income before tax and National Insurance, and it includes income from sources other than employment. In Scotland, the income bands differ — one Scottish council's published table, for example, sets the 15% band below £224 a week and the 7.5% band up to £291.99 — which is why the table above must not be applied to a Scottish claim without checking the local scheme.
The better-buy rule
You cannot receive main Council Tax Reduction and second adult rebate at the same time. Your council works out both and awards whichever gives you the larger reduction — sometimes called the better-buy calculation. You do not need to choose between them in advance: claim Council Tax Reduction, give the council the information about the other adult, and the council will apply the better result. The rebate, like the main reduction, is credited to your council tax account and shown on a revised bill.
The student exception
There is one case where the rebate can reach 100%. If your home would be wholly occupied by full-time students but for the presence of a second adult who receives Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit, the rebate can be 100% of the charge. This is a narrow exception, but it matters to households where a student lives with a low-income adult relative, and it is worth asking your council about if the facts fit.