Bromley Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions: Complete List for 2026/27

Non-Means-Tested Discounts vs Council Tax Support

Bromley's Council Tax Support is means-tested — it depends on your income and savings. But the discounts and exemptions covered here are not. They apply regardless of what you earn. The two work together: discounts reduce your base bill first, then CTS (if you qualify) covers up to 50% of the reduced amount.

Claiming all applicable discounts is the foundation of reducing your council tax. Missing one means your CTS is calculated against a higher figure than it needs to be.

Single Person Discount (25%)

If you're the only adult living in your property, you qualify for a 25% reduction off your total council tax bill. Certain people are "disregarded" and don't count as adults for this purpose:

• Full-time students (studying 21+ hours per week for at least 24 weeks per year)
• People certified as severely mentally impaired
• Care workers earning £44 per week or less
• Live-in carers providing at least 35 hours of care per week
• 18 and 19-year-olds in full-time education
• Members of religious communities

So if you live with an adult child who's a full-time student, they don't count — you still qualify for the Single Person Discount.

Student Exemption (Class N)

If everyone living in a property is a full-time student, the property is exempt from council tax entirely (Class N exemption). A "full-time student" means enrolled on a course of at least 21 hours per week for at least 24 weeks per year.

If students live with a non-student adult, the full exemption doesn't apply, but the non-student residents may qualify for the Single Person Discount if the students are disregarded from the adult count.

Empty Property Rules and Premiums

Bromley applies escalating premiums to properties left empty and substantially unfurnished:

From April 2025, Bromley introduced a 100% premium on second homes (properties occupied periodically but not as anyone's main residence).

Specific exemption classes apply to recently inherited properties going through probate, homes being actively marketed for sale or letting, and properties vacated due to compulsory purchase. Check with Bromley's revenues team if your empty property falls into an exemption category.

Second Adult Rebate

Note: Bromley revoked Class F alternative maximum council tax reduction (the second adult rebate for non-pensioners) as of 1 April 2025. This used to provide a reduction if a second adult in your home was on a low income or benefits. It's no longer available for working-age claimants in Bromley.

Pension-age residents may still be eligible for a second adult rebate under national prescribed rules.

War Pension Disregard

War disablement pensions, war widow's pensions, and war widower's pensions from Veterans UK are fully disregarded in Bromley's CTS means test. Every penny of the pension is excluded from income calculations.

This isn't technically a discount — it's a disregard within the CTS assessment — but it's worth knowing because it can significantly increase a war pensioner's CTS award.

Stacking Discounts With CTS

The biggest savings come from combining multiple discounts before CTS is applied. A single disabled resident could qualify for:

1. Single Person Discount (25% off the gross bill)
2. Disabled Band Reduction (assessed one band lower)
3. CTS (up to 50% of the net liability)
4. Section 13A hardship fund (discretionary additional reduction)

Each layer reduces the next layer's base figure. The order of application matters, and it's the council's job to calculate it — but knowing what you're entitled to means you can check their maths.

For a walkthrough of how discounts and exemptions interact with CTS for different household types, the Bromley Council Tax Reduction Guide explains the stacking rules with worked examples.

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