Council Tax Reduction Wales — Evidence and Documents You Need

Gathering the right evidence is where most Welsh CTR applications stall. The form itself is straightforward — it is the one-month evidence deadline that trips people up, especially when councils demand original documents or specific formats. Here is everything you need, organised by category.

Identity and National Insurance

You and your partner (if applicable) must prove your identity and National Insurance number. Accepted documents include:

• Passport or photo driving licence
• Birth certificate
• Official DWP or HMRC letters showing your full name and NINO

Check whether your council accepts copies or scans. Carmarthenshire requires original documents rather than copies; check with it how to submit or show them.

Council Tax Account

You need your annual council tax bill or your council tax reference number. This identifies the property and the liability amount the council uses to calculate your eligible reduction. If you have lost the bill, the reference number is on any council correspondence about your council tax account.

Earned Income

The council needs proof of your current earnings:

• Employed: five consecutive weekly payslips, or two consecutive monthly payslips. These must be recent — dated within the last two to three months.
• Self-employed: audited accounts or a profit-and-loss summary for the current trading period, plus business bank statements. Wales does not apply the Minimum Income Floor, so your actual income is what matters.
• Variable income (zero-hours, agency, seasonal): provide as many recent payslips as possible to establish an average. The council will typically assess over five weeks (weekly pay) or two months (monthly pay).

Universal Credit Statements

If you are on Universal Credit, download your last three monthly UC assessment statements from your UC online journal. The council needs these to see:

• Your UC award amount
• Any earnings reported to UC
• The breakdown of UC elements (housing, childcare, limited capability for work)

Download the full monthly assessment statements from your UC online journal. Check your council's portal for accepted file types.

Other Benefits and Pensions

Provide the latest award letters for:

• State Pension
• Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit and/or Savings Credit)
• Employment and Support Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer's Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Any occupational or private pension

Disability benefits like PIP and DLA are fully disregarded as income, but the council still needs proof you receive them — both for income treatment and because they may exempt you from non-dependant deductions.

Capital and Savings

Bank statements covering all accounts for the last two to three consecutive months. This includes:

• Current accounts
• Savings accounts
• ISAs (cash and stocks and shares)
• Premium Bonds
• Any account held by your partner

The council looks at the balance to determine whether you are above or below the capital thresholds (£6,000/£16,000 for working-age, £10,000/£16,000 for pensioners). They also check for undeclared lump-sum deposits.

Your main home is not counted as capital. Personal possessions and the surrender value of life insurance are also excluded.

Household Members

If other people live in your property, you need evidence of their status:

• Children: Child Benefit award letter or school enrolment confirmation
• Students: student certificate or enrolment letter for the current academic year (full-time students may be disregarded for council tax and non-dependant purposes)
• Non-dependant adults: proof of their gross weekly income or benefit status, so the council can calculate the correct non-dependant deduction

What to Do If You Cannot Get Documents in Time

The evidence window is one month from the council's request, or longer if the authority considers an extension reasonable. If you cannot gather everything in time:

1. Submit what you have before the deadline and explain which documents are outstanding and why.
2. Contact the council before the deadline expires and ask it to allow more time. The authority can allow a longer period if it considers that reasonable.
3. Do not ignore the deadline. If it passes, contact the council at once, ask whether a decision has been made, and find out how to provide the missing evidence.

If your claim is refused because of missing evidence, you can request a formal written review and submit the documents at that stage. But it is much easier to get an extension than to fight a refusal.

The Council Tax Reduction in Wales guide includes an evidence assembly checklist you can print and tick off as you gather each document, plus a claim tracking log for keeping records of what you submitted and when.

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