Bolton Council Tax Care Leaver Discount

The Care Leaver Discount

Bolton Council provides a 100% council tax discount for qualifying care leavers aged 18 to 24. The discount continues until you turn 25 or cease to be liable for council tax, whichever happens first.

This is a local discount, not a national entitlement. Bolton applies it after Council Tax Support and all other discounts and exemptions. Other councils may offer less or nothing. If you move outside Bolton, check whether your new council has an equivalent scheme.

Who Qualifies

You qualify for the care leaver discount if you:

• Were looked after by a local authority (in Bolton or another council) for at least 13 weeks after your 14th birthday, with some of that time falling after your 16th birthday
• Are aged between 18 and 24
• Are liable for council tax on a property in Bolton

The discount applies whether you were in foster care, residential care, or another form of local authority care. It covers former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who were looked after by a local authority.

If you live with a partner or are a joint tenant with a friend, Bolton says the 100% discount still applies.

How to Apply

Contact Bolton Council's Revenues and Benefits team on 01204 331599. You'll need to provide evidence that you were previously in local authority care — your leaving care team or personal adviser can confirm this. If you were in care under a different council, that council can provide a letter confirming your care history.

Bolton Council's Children's Services and the leaving care team often flag eligible young people to the revenues department, but this doesn't happen automatically in every case. If you've been receiving a council tax bill since turning 18 and think you qualify, apply and ask for the discount to be backdated to when you first became liable.

Other Support for Care Leavers

The care leaver discount is separate from Council Tax Reduction. If you're over 25 and no longer eligible for the care leaver discount, you may qualify for CTR if you're on a low income — see the Bolton CTR eligibility guide. Care leavers under 25 who are receiving the 100% discount don't need CTR for council tax, but should still check eligibility for other support through Bolton's leaving care team and the Bolton Money Skills Service (01204 332 916).

The complete Bolton CTR guide lists all available discounts and exemptions alongside the reduction scheme, so you can check everything you're entitled to in one place.

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