County Durham Council Tax Reduction Savings Limit: The £10,000 Cap

The £10,000 Hard Cutoff

If your total household capital — savings, investments, and property equity — reaches £10,000, you're completely disqualified from Council Tax Reduction in County Durham. There's no partial award, no taper. At £9,999 you may qualify; at £10,000 you get nothing.

This is stricter than Universal Credit, which allows capital up to £16,000 (with tariff income between £6,000 and £16,000). That gap catches out claimants who qualify for UC benefits but are locked out of local council tax support.

How Capital Is Assessed

The council counts capital held by the applicant and their partner combined. This includes:

• Bank and building society accounts — current accounts, savings accounts, ISAs
• Investments — stocks, shares, premium bonds, unit trusts
• Property — any property you own other than your main home (valued at market price minus 10% notional sale costs, outstanding mortgages, and legal charges)
• Cash savings held anywhere

What doesn't count:

• Children's savings — capital held by dependent children or young persons in the household is completely ignored
• Your main home — the property you live in is excluded
• Income disregards for certain payments — personal injury trust payments, charitable grants, and approved contaminated-blood compensation are excluded from income assessments. If you hold one of these payments as capital, check the scheme's capital rules before treating it as excluded.

Joint capital with someone other than your partner is split equally unless you can prove a different ownership split with documentation.

The Tariff Income Zone: £6,000 to £9,999

Capital below £6,000 is fully disregarded — it has zero impact on your CTR assessment.

Between £6,000 and £9,999, the council applies "tariff income": an assumed weekly income of £1 for every £250 (or part of £250) above £6,000. This tariff income is added to your actual weekly income before the council places you in an income band.

For example, if you have £8,000 in savings:

• £8,000 minus £6,000 = £2,000 over the threshold
• £2,000 ÷ £250 = 8 units of tariff income
• That adds £8 per week to your assessed income

If your earned income after the £25 disregard is £60 per week, the tariff income pushes you to £68 — still within Band 1 (£0–£69.99) for a 90% discount. But if you were already at £65 per week, that £8 tariff pushes you to £73 and into Band 2 (75% discount).

Practical Implications

The £10,000 limit creates some sharp edges:

Redundancy payments and inheritances can temporarily push you over the threshold. If you receive a lump sum that takes your capital to £10,000 or more, the working-age scheme's capital rule disqualifies you from CTR.

The two-month bank statement requirement means the council sees your capital position in detail. They ask for statements covering the most recent two full months for every account you hold.

Pension-age residents face different rules. The national pension-age scheme has a £16,000 capital limit, with tariff income between £6,000 and £16,000, and Guarantee Pension Credit recipients have no upper capital limit at all.

What to Do If You're Close to the Limit

If your savings are approaching £10,000, the worst outcome is being unaware of the cutoff and losing CTR without understanding why. Report a change that takes your total capital to or across £6,000 or £10,000 within 21 days. If the council finds you received excess CTR, it debits the excess from your Council Tax account.

For a detailed capital assessment walkthrough, the County Durham Council Tax Reduction guide includes a capital calculation worksheet with worked examples for each threshold tier.

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