Tens of thousands of people are entitled to a ‘mental impairment’ council tax discount:
25% discount
if you live with someone with a severe mental impairment and no other adults, or only adults who are also disregarded for council tax purpose.
100% discount
if you have a severe mental impairment and live alone.
The steps to claim your discount are available on the MoneySavingExpert or see below:
How to claim the discount
The process for making a claim varies by area, so you’ll need to check your local authority’s procedure. But here are the basics (for England, Scotland and Wales – for Northern Ireland see below):
- First, you’ll need a doctor’s diagnosis. A registered medical practitioner must have diagnosed a condition causing severe mental impairment. In some cases you’ll need to attach a written diagnosis to your claim – in others you just give your doctor’s details and they’ll be contacted for confirmation.
- Then get a claim form from your council. You’ll need to contact your local authority for a claim form to register for a council tax discount (find contact details via the Government’s ‘Apply for Council Tax Reduction’ service).
- Fill the form in and send it off to your council. You may be asked to attach some supporting evidence, such as the doctor’s diagnosis or evidence of eligibility for relevant benefits.
Procedures vary by council, so if you want to know how long it will take for the discount to be applied, it’s best to check with yours.
