Ealing Council Tax Exemptions and Discounts — Students, SMI, Single Person and More

Exemptions and Discounts Are Separate From CTR

Before diving in: council tax exemptions and discounts are different from Council Tax Reduction (CTR). CTR is Ealing's means-tested scheme that reduces your bill based on your income and savings. Exemptions and discounts are statutory entitlements that apply regardless of your income. You can often claim both — a discount that reduces your base bill, plus CTR that reduces whatever's left.

Student Exemption

If every adult in your household is a qualifying full-time student, the property is exempt from council tax entirely — a 100% exemption, not just a discount.

A qualifying student is someone on a full-time course at a university or college that lasts at least one year, includes at least 24 weeks of study per year, and involves at least 21 hours of study per week. If you are 18 or 19 in further education, your course must include at least 12 hours of study per week. This covers university and college students on qualifying courses. Ealing also lists student nurses as disregarded when counting adults for council-tax discounts.

If you live with a mix of students and non-students, the property isn't fully exempt, but students are "disregarded" for discount purposes. A couple where one is a full-time student effectively counts as a single-person household, qualifying for the 25% single person discount.

To claim, you'll need a student status letter or certificate from your institution. Apply through Ealing Council's online portal or contact the council tax team.

Students are also disregarded as non-dependants for CTR purposes — if you're claiming CTR and your adult child living at home is a full-time student, their non-dependant deduction is £0.

Severe Mental Impairment (SMI) Disregard

A person with a severe mental impairment is disregarded for council tax purposes. This means they don't count as an adult resident when calculating discounts or exemptions.

To qualify for the SMI disregard in Ealing, the person must have a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (which appears to be permanent) and must be receiving a qualifying benefit — typically Attendance Allowance, the middle or higher rate of DLA care component, the daily living component of PIP, or Incapacity Benefit. A medical certificate from a GP or hospital consultant confirming the impairment is required.

The practical effects:

• If the person with SMI is the only adult in the property, the property becomes exempt (Class U exemption)
• If two adults live in the property and one has the SMI disregard, the household qualifies for a 25% single person discount (because only one "countable" adult remains)
• An SMI disregard alone does not make a household protected for CTR. If you or your partner receives a benefit Ealing lists for its protected category, such as PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, or Employment and Support Allowance, that can qualify the household for the protected award rates

The SMI disregard is widely under-claimed. If someone in your household has dementia, a severe learning disability, or a severe brain injury and receives a qualifying benefit, check whether you're getting this disregard.

Single Person Discount (25%)

If you're the only countable adult in your home, you can apply for a 25% reduction on your council tax bill. This is the most commonly claimed discount in the country; the council checks your claim and household status before applying it.

"Countable" is the key word. Certain adults are disregarded and don't count toward the household total:

• Full-time students
• People with a severe mental impairment
• Care workers on low pay, usually employed by a charity or local authority
• Live-in carers who provide care for at least 35 hours per week to someone who is not their partner or a child under 18 and who receives a qualifying benefit
• 18- and 19-year-olds for whom Child Benefit is paid, and some school leavers under 20 who left school between 30 April and 1 November
• Members of religious communities who receive no income

If you live with only disregarded adults, you still count as a single-person household for discount purposes.

The 25% discount stacks with CTR. For a 2026/27 Band D bill of £2,138.53, the single person discount brings it to £1,603.90. CTR is then calculated on that reduced figure. For a non-protected Band 1 applicant getting an 80% award, that's a further £1,283.12 off — leaving about £320.78 for the year.

Report changes if someone moves in. The council cross-checks single person discount claims against electoral roll data and credit reference agencies. An unreported change can result in the discount being revoked retrospectively with a bill for the full amount.

Second Adult Rebate

The second adult rebate (also called Alternative Maximum Council Tax Reduction) is available only to pension-age applicants under the national prescribed scheme. If you're working age, you cannot claim it in Ealing.

Under the national pension-age rules, if you share your home with a second adult who is on a low income (but isn't your partner), you may qualify for a rebate of up to 25% on your council tax — even if your own income is too high for standard CTR. The rebate is based on the second adult's income, not yours.

If you're of pension age and think this applies to you, contact Ealing Council's benefit team or check the pension-age CTR section on their website.

Claiming Multiple Reductions

You can hold a discount or exemption alongside a CTR award. The discount reduces your base liability first, and CTR is calculated on the reduced amount. Make sure Ealing Council has all the correct information about your household — discounts and exemptions aren't always applied automatically, and the council may not know about a student in the household or a qualifying SMI unless you tell them.

The Ealing Council Tax Reduction guide covers how discounts and exemptions interact with the CTR income bands, including worked calculations showing the combined savings for different household types.

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