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Council Tax

Council Tax Exemptions

In the United Kingdom, payment of Council Tax is a serious concern for people owning individual properties. It can be quite an annual expense, especially if you fall into the higher Council Tax bands. Hence they often resort to trying to get help from the council tax benefits systems prevalent at the time. These change all the time and you need to check out what relief is available to you. That is your right.

But for a small minority of people, the situations arise whereby payment of council tax may be exempted when certain specific contingencies are applied to a particular property when a property has inadequate furnishings which allows or enables someone else to live in that property or the property is unoccupied or being empty. Hence they may be exempted from paying Council Tax altogether. Exemptions applicability is broadly classified into two categories, namely:

• 1. The occupied property and
• 2. The unoccupied property

Council Tax Exemptions for Occupied Properties:

It is important to note that Council Tax exemptions are applicable even to occupied properties in the following cases and are categorized into various classes/sections depending upon the contingency which it is being applied for:

• Class M: This policy is applied for halls of residence where students reside at a college or university.
• Class N: This tax exemption policy is applicable if a property is solely occupied by students, such as in a student lodging house which may or may not be privately owned.
• Class O: When military or any armed forces pertinent to Defense Organization of the state occupies a property for accommodation then the Council Tax exemptions policy is applicable here.
• Class P: When a particular property is being used for accommodating the dependents or visiting forces of defense organization of a country then the property is subject to exemption from Council Tax payments.
• Class U: If a patient suffering from a serious mental impairment owns a property or groups of mentally impaired patients occupy a property, such as in a group home or sheltered housing, then Council Tax exemptions applies over here too.
• Class S: If a property is owned by a person under the age of 18 then he is applicable for this council tax exemption policy.
• Class V: If a Diplomat or any member from an international organization resides in the property then property tax exemption is applicable.
• Class W: In certain cases exemptions are applicable to disabled or elderly relative of a property owner if the former occupies a part of the property or the whole of it in case the property holder resides in any other place or another property. These are also referred to as granny flats.

Council Tax Exemptions for Unoccupied Properties:

Council Tax exemptions are generally available for properties which are not occupied. Some of the scenarios in which council tax exemptions applicable to unoccupied properties are listed below with their respective class names:

• Class E: Those properties left out empty because of elderly people shifting to old age homes to be taken care of or people leaving to hospitals due to physical or mental disabilities.
• Class D: Property holders residing in prison as a result of which property is empty.
• Class K: If a student being the property holder leaves his property to pursue studies elsewhere exemption applies.
• Class L: Special case of exemption where in the property is being repossessed by the money lender.
• Class I & Class J: Exemption applies to a property holder if in any case he or she has gone elsewhere either to seek personal care (Class I) or to take care of another person (Class J).

Paying your Council Tax after Deductions

You will need to apply for Council Tax exemptions with your specific local council. You will be asked to fill in a simple form and to provide documentary evidence which shows why you should be exempt from Council Tax on a specific property. You may also get a visit from a member of staff at the Council Tax office in order to check out and discuss your claim. You will be given a new Council Tax bill with the amended amount on it and you ma have nothing to pay at all. If you pay your Council Tax by direct debit from your bank, the Council will correct the amount they deduct from your bank account for you, without you having to do nothing but check that the amount deducted is now correct, as mistakes are sometimes made, although these are rare and easily rectified if you have your new Council Tax bill as proof of what you were told that you had to pay. So, the matter is simple: if you think you are eligible for any amount of Council Tax exemption, contact your local Council offices and they will tell you how to proceed.

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