Who can claim?
The basic tests are the same across the UK, even though the detailed scheme rules differ. You can claim Council Tax Reduction if you meet all of the following: you are liable for council tax on the home, you live in that home, you are aged 18 or over, your income is low enough under your scheme, and your capital is within the limit. Only one person in a couple can claim, and the claim covers the couple as a household.
The liability test
You must be the person whose name is on the council tax bill, or jointly liable for it. If you are a joint tenant and only you are liable for a share of the bill, you can claim help towards your share. Tenants and homeowners can both claim — owning your home outright, or having a mortgage, does not bar a claim. Lodgers and most people who are not liable for the bill cannot claim, even if they contribute to the household's costs.
Income and capital
Your income includes earnings, most benefits, pensions and other regular income, for you and your partner combined. Your capital includes savings, investments and, in some circumstances, property other than the home you live in. The general capital limit is £16,000: if you and your partner together have more than £16,000 in capital, you cannot qualify — with one important exception. If you receive the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, you can qualify for the maximum reduction even if your capital is above £16,000. Some working-age schemes in England set a lower capital limit, such as £6,000, so the £16,000 figure is a general ceiling, not a promise that every scheme allows up to that amount. Check your council's scheme for its own limit.
Capital below the ceiling still matters. Schemes treat capital above a lower threshold as if it produced a weekly income — a mechanism called tariff income — which reduces the reduction. The thresholds and the tariff rate are set by the scheme, so this site states the mechanism rather than a single national figure that would be wrong for many readers.
Passported benefits
Some benefits passport you to the maximum reduction, subject to deductions for other adults living with you. If you receive Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, you will generally receive the maximum reduction your scheme allows, less any non-dependant deduction. Universal Credit does not passport you in the same automatic way: you still have to claim Council Tax Reduction separately, and your Universal Credit award is assessed as income under the council's scheme.
Who usually cannot claim
Most full-time students cannot claim Council Tax Reduction, because students are generally disregarded for council tax and many student households are exempt altogether. People who are subject to immigration control and excluded from public funds generally cannot claim, and a person sponsored to live in the UK who receives financial support from their sponsor is usually excluded too. Second homes and empty properties do not attract Council Tax Reduction, because the claimant must live in the property as their home. If you are unsure whether an exclusion applies to you, ask your council — it will check your status as part of the claim.
Working, self-employed, retired — all can qualify
There is no requirement to be out of work. Employees on low pay, self-employed people with fluctuating income, part-time workers, and pensioners on a modest retirement income can all qualify if the scheme's income and capital tests are met. Self-employed claimants should expect the council to ask for accounts, tax returns or bank statements, and to average income over a period, because a single quiet month does not tell the whole story. Pensioners should read the pension-age page: the national scheme protects pension-age claimants from the local variations that affect working-age claimants in England.