Ealing Council Tax Reduction Income Bands 2026/27 Explained

The Nine Bands and What They Pay

Ealing's working-age Council Tax Reduction scheme maps your net countable weekly income onto one of nine bands. Each band has two columns — one for protected households (up to 100% award) and one for non-protected households (capped at 80%). Here are the 2026/27 thresholds:

• Band 1 (£0–£154.18/week): Protected 100%, Non-protected 80%
• Band 2 (£154.19–£179.89): Protected 75%, Non-protected 60%
• Band 3 (£179.90–£205.58): Protected 60%, Non-protected 50%
• Band 4 (£205.59–£231.29): Protected 50%, Non-protected 40%
• Band 5 (£231.30–£256.99): Protected 40%, Non-protected 30%
• Band 6 (£257.00–£282.67): Protected 30%, Non-protected 20%
• Band 7 (£282.68–£308.39): Protected 20%, Non-protected 10%
• Band 8 (£308.40–£334.08 protected / £308.40+ non-protected): Protected 10%, Non-protected 0%
• Band 9 (£334.09+ protected only): Protected 0%

Non-protected applicants lose all support at Band 8. Protected applicants keep receiving help through Band 8 and only lose it at Band 9.

What Counts as Income (and What Doesn't)

Ealing fully disregards these when calculating your weekly income for band placement:

• Universal Credit
• Child Benefit
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Attendance Allowance

Your countable income is everything else — wages, private pensions, tax credits, maintenance payments, and similar. After totalling that, specific disregards are subtracted.

The £38.54 earnings disregard applies to couples and lone parents who do not receive Universal Credit. If you're on UC, this local disregard doesn't apply because the DWP already factors work allowances into your UC calculation.

Students get a £10/week deduction on income from student loans. Sub-tenants bring a £20/week disregard per sub-tenant. Boarder income gets £20 plus 50% of the rest disregarded.

Converting Monthly Pay to Weekly Income

Ealing's bands use weekly figures, but most people are paid monthly. The formula:

Monthly net pay × 12 ÷ 52 = weekly income

If you earn £900 net per month: £900 × 12 ÷ 52 = £207.69/week. For a non-UC couple, subtract the £38.54 disregard: £207.69 − £38.54 = £169.15/week, placing you in Band 2 (60% award if non-protected, 75% if protected).

If you're on zero-hours or variable pay, the council uses whichever figure the DWP reports through real-time data feeds. Your award can shift between bands month to month — and your remaining council tax instalments get adjusted accordingly.

Worked Example: What Band 3 Looks Like

Take a non-protected household in a Band E property with an annual council tax of £2,613.77. If countable weekly income is £190.00, that falls into Band 3 — a 50% award for non-protected applicants.

50% of £2,613.77 = £1,306.89 annual reduction, or £25.06/week. If an unemployed adult child also lives there, a non-dependant deduction of £8.35/week applies, bringing the net award down to £16.71/week (£871.31/year). The household pays £1,742.46 for the year instead of £2,613.77.

When a Small Income Change Shifts Your Band

The bands move in roughly £25 increments. Picking up an extra shift that pushes your weekly income from £153 to £155 drops you from Band 1 to Band 2 — a jump from 80% to 60% for non-protected applicants. That's a real hit on a tight budget.

If your income fluctuates around a band boundary, keep records. When the council reassesses and you disagree with the income figure they've used, you have one month from the decision notice to request a review.

The Ealing Council Tax Reduction guide includes the full income band table with worked calculations for every common household type, plus an evidence checklist to make sure the council counts your income correctly.

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