Council Tax Exemption Classes in England — Class N, Class U and Beyond

Exemptions vs Discounts — The Difference

A discount reduces your bill (25% for a single person, 50% if everyone is disregarded). An exemption wipes it out entirely — the dwelling is not chargeable. Exemptions are defined by the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (SI 1992/558), and each has a class letter.

Both depend on who lives in the property and the property's circumstances, not on household income. And both require you to notify your billing authority — councils do not apply them automatically.

People-Based Exemptions

Class N — All-Student Households

The dwelling is occupied entirely by full-time students (or student nurses, school leavers, or non-British spouses and dependants of students prevented from working by immigration terms). No council tax is payable.

This is the exemption student houses use. Every resident must qualify individually. If one non-student housemate moves in, Class N falls away. The students are still disregarded, so if one countable adult remains the dwelling can qualify for a 25% single person discount; liability is determined under the usual hierarchy.

Class U — All Severely Mentally Impaired

Every resident has a severe mental impairment certified by a doctor and receives a qualifying benefit. This commonly applies when a couple both have dementia, or when a person with SMI lives alone (since a sole SMI resident is both the only countable adult and disregarded, the dwelling qualifies for the exemption rather than just the discount).

Class S — Under-18s Only

The dwelling is occupied solely by people under 18. Rare, but it applies.

Class V — Visiting Armed Forces

Occupied solely by members of visiting armed forces under the Visiting Forces Act 1952.

Property-Based Exemptions

Class W — Dependent Relative Annexes

A self-contained annexe occupied as a sole or main residence by a dependent relative of the person living in the main dwelling. The relative must be aged 65 or over, or severely mentally impaired, or substantially and permanently disabled. The annexe pays zero council tax. The main dwelling is billed normally.

Class E — Left Empty After Move to Care

A previously occupied dwelling that became empty because the occupant moved permanently into a hospital, care home, or similar facility. The exemption runs from the date the property became unoccupied.

Class I — Left Empty to Receive Care

Similar to Class E, but covers a dwelling left empty because the occupant moved elsewhere to receive personal care (not necessarily into a formal care facility).

Class J — Left Empty to Provide Care

The occupant left the dwelling to provide personal care to someone else.

Class F — Deceased Occupant

An unoccupied dwelling where the person who was liable has died. The exemption applies for up to six months after probate or letters of administration are granted. Before the grant, the exemption runs from the date of death.

Class M — Uninhabitable

The dwelling is unoccupied and structurally uninhabitable — substantial repair or structural alteration is required. This covers properties undergoing major renovation, not cosmetic work.

How Exemptions Interact with Discounts

Exemptions and discounts are separate calculations. If a dwelling qualifies for a full exemption, the bill is zero and discounts are irrelevant. If the exemption does not apply but one or more residents are disregarded, the discount kicks in.

For example: a couple where one partner has SMI. If both partners have SMI and qualifying benefits, the dwelling is Class U exempt (zero bill). If only one has SMI, the other partner gets a 25% single person discount because the SMI partner is disregarded.

Claiming an Exemption

Contact your billing authority with:

• Your council tax account number
• Which exemption class you believe applies
• Supporting evidence (student certificates for Class N, medical certificates and benefit award letters for Class U, care home confirmation for Class E)

Exemptions can be backdated. If you have been paying council tax on a property that qualified for an exemption, provide evidence of when the qualifying conditions were met, and the council should recalculate from that date.

The England Single Person Discount guide covers how exemptions and disregards interact in mixed households, with a decision flowchart for working out whether your dwelling qualifies.

See more England guides →