Care Leaver Council Tax Exemption Scotland

What the Law Says

Since 1 April 2018, care leavers in Scotland are statutory disregarded persons for council tax under SSI 2018/39 — the Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2018. This is not discretionary. Every one of Scotland's 32 councils must apply it.

You qualify if you:

• Are aged 18 to 25 (the disregard runs until the day before your 26th birthday)
• Were looked after by a local authority on or after your 16th birthday, under sections 17(6) or 29(7) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Care leavers from England or Wales can also qualify if their originating authority confirms equivalent statutory care status.

"Looked after" covers residential care, foster care, kinship care, and supervision at home under a compulsory supervision order.

What It Means for Your Bill

As a disregarded person, the council ignores you when counting adults in the property. The effect depends on who else lives there:

Living alone or only with other disregarded people (other care leavers, students, people with an SMI): the general all-disregarded reduction is 50%. Some councils also operate care-leaver discount or exemption policies that reduce council tax to zero; ask your council whether its policy applies and how it treats water and sewerage charges.

Living with one non-disregarded adult (a partner who works, for example): you are ignored, leaving one counted adult. The property gets a 25% single person discount.

Living with two or more non-disregarded adults: you are ignored, but there are still two or more counted adults. No discount applies (though CTR may reduce the bill if the household's income is low).

Getting Your Verification

This is where most care leavers hit friction. Your council's revenues department needs formal confirmation that you were looked after. The proof must come from the local authority that cared for you, not necessarily the one you live in now.

If you live in the same council area: Contact your aftercare or throughcare team. They can provide a letter or stamp on the council's care leaver discount application form. Glasgow City Council, for instance, requires an official social work stamp and signature on a dedicated PDF form.

If you have moved to a different council area: This is the cross-boundary verification problem. Your current council needs confirmation from the authority that looked after you. Contact your former local authority's social work department and ask for a care leaver verification letter. If you are working with a throughcare worker, they can help coordinate this.

Who Cares? Scotland, the independent advocacy organisation for care-experienced people, can assist if you are struggling to get verification — particularly when dealing with councils that are unfamiliar with the cross-boundary process.

What Happens at 26

The disregard ends on the day before your 26th birthday. From that date, you are counted as a normal adult for council tax purposes.

If you were living alone and exempt, you become liable for a proportional bill from your birthday onwards. If you were sharing with one non-disregarded adult, the household loses the SPD (if you were the reason it applied).

There is no tapering or transitional period. If you are approaching 26, check whether you might qualify for Council Tax Reduction based on income — that is a separate application to your council.

Backdating

If you have been paying council tax (or a household has been paying full council tax because you were counted) and you only discover the disregard later, ask the council to backdate the discount. You will need the verification letter covering the period in question. Councils can go back several years if the evidence supports it.

For the complete process — from getting your social work verification through to counting residents, applying, and backdating — the Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions Scotland guide includes a step-by-step care leaver section with a printable evidence checklist.

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