Attendance allowance – A guide for you and your ageing parents
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Carents providing live in care are likely to be eligible for council tax reductions.
If you are caring for an elderly relative in either your home or theirs, then you are likely to qualify for a reduction in your council tax.
The exact amounts can vary across councils because each council runs its own scheme.
For carents who have an elderly relative living with them, the key words to enquire about are” council tax disregard.”
Council Tax disregard scheme
Disregarded people are those who are not counted for the purpose of paying council tax. To be disregarded as a carent, you need to meet all of the following criteria:
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- You provide care for at least 35 hours a week.
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- You live in the same property as the person you care for
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- You are not the spouse or partner of the person you care for, or their parent if you care for a child under 18.
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- The person you care for must be in receipt of one type of benefit which is considered eligible. Attendance allowance is an accepted benefit (at any rate in England but only at the higher rate in Scotland)
To apply for a discount you should contact your local Council Tax department at the council. Please note that you can also ask for the discount to be backdated to the date when you met the criteria for it.
Council tax exemptions
Alternatively, if you are a carent who has gone to live with an elderly relative in order to provide care for them, you should enquire about council tax exemption on your existing home. If, as a consequence of your caring responsibilities, it is now standing empty, then you are likely to be exempt from paying council tax.
