What Documents Do You Need for Council Tax Reduction in East Riding?

The One-Month Evidence Deadline

East Riding of Yorkshire Council requires acceptable verification within one month of submitting your Council Tax Support application. If the month passes without complete documentation, the council cancels the claim. If you may miss the deadline, contact the council promptly to ask how to submit the outstanding evidence.

Gathering everything before you start the form is the single most effective thing you can do to avoid delays.

Identity Proof

You need acceptable photo or official ID for yourself and your partner (if applicable). East Riding accepts:

• Passport
• Photo driving licence
• National Insurance number card
• Birth certificate

If you don't have photo ID, a birth certificate combined with other official documents (utility bills, benefit letters) may be accepted. Contact the council to check before submitting.

Income Evidence

Employed: Provide five consecutive weekly payslips or two consecutive monthly payslips. The council uses these to calculate your average net weekly earnings after tax, NI and 50% of pension contributions. If your pay varies (zero-hours contracts, overtime, commission), the averaging period matters — more payslips covering a typical period reduces the risk of being assessed on an unrepresentative week.

Self-employed: You need records showing total gross receipts, business expenses, tax and NI payments. The council calculates net profit and converts it to a weekly figure. Organised accounts (even a spreadsheet) with supporting invoices and bank statements speed up the assessment.

Universal Credit: Provide your full UC breakdown statement — not just the total amount, but the individual elements (standard allowance, housing element, child elements, LCWRA, carer element). The council needs to see each element to apply the correct disregards. You can download your UC breakdown from your online UC journal.

Bank Statements

This is where many claims get stuck. East Riding requires two consecutive months of complete bank statements for every account you hold — current accounts, savings accounts, ISAs, even if a balance is zero. The council uses these to verify your capital position against the £6,000 threshold.

Common mistakes:

• Only providing statements for your main current account and forgetting a savings account
• Providing partial statements (one month instead of two)
• Printing an online banking summary that doesn't show the full transaction history

Make sure statements cover the correct consecutive period and show the account holder's name, sort code and full transactions.

Non-Dependant Evidence

For every adult aged 18 or over living in your home who isn't your partner, the council needs proof of their income or status. This determines whether the £25 per week (working) or £10 per week (non-working) deduction is applied to your award.

Acceptable evidence includes the non-dependant's payslips or benefit letters. If they cannot provide these, contact the council to ask what alternative proof it accepts and how it will determine the deduction.

Address and Liability

Your current council tax bill or a utility statement confirming your address establishes your occupancy and links the claim to the correct billing account.

Pulling It All Together

Before starting the online form at eastriding.gov.uk/mycounciltax, check you have:

• ID for you (and your partner)
• 5 weekly payslips or 2 monthly, or self-employment records, or UC breakdown
• 2 months of statements for every bank account and investment
• Proof of income/status for every non-dependant adult in the home
• Your council tax bill number

The East Riding Council Tax Reduction guide includes a printable evidence checklist organised by household type, so you can tick off each document before you apply.

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