East Riding Council Tax Reduction Savings Limit: The £6,000 Capital Rule

The Hard £6,000 Threshold

East Riding of Yorkshire's working-age Council Tax Support scheme sets a strict capital limit of £6,000. If your combined savings, bank balances, investments and other capital reach £6,000.01 or above on the date of your assessment, you're disqualified from any support — regardless of how low your weekly income is.

This is a binary rule, not a taper. Unlike legacy means-tested benefits that calculated a "tariff income" (£1 per week for every £250 of savings above a lower threshold), East Riding's income-band scheme ignores capital up to and including £6,000. Capital above £6,000 disqualifies you. There's no graduated reduction as your savings approach the limit — you either qualify or you don't.

What Counts as Capital

The council assesses:

• Bank account balances across all accounts you hold (current accounts, savings accounts, even zero-balance ones)
• ISAs — these count towards the £6,000 cap despite being tax-free
• Investments — shares, bonds, premium bonds, unit trusts
• Secondary property — assessed at market value minus 10% for sale expenses and encumbrances
• Lump-sum payments such as redundancy payments, inheritances or insurance payouts may affect your capital; ask the council how it treats yours

You need to provide two consecutive months of complete bank statements for every account when you apply, which is how the council verifies your capital position.

What Doesn't Count

Your main home — the property you normally live in — is fully disregarded. It never counts towards the £6,000 limit.

Do not assume that other assets are excluded. Ask the council how it counts personal possessions, household goods or any life-insurance surrender value you hold.

If You're Just Over the Limit

There's no discretion built into the capital rule itself. At £6,001 you're out, whether your income is £50 a week or £250 a week. However, two things are worth knowing:

First, the assessment uses the capital position on a specific date. If you've temporarily gone over £6,000 (say, from a one-off payment that you've since spent on essentials), report the change when your capital falls to £6,000 or less and ask the council whether you need to reapply.

Second, if you're disqualified from Council Tax Support but genuinely cannot pay your bill, you may be able to apply for the Exceptional Hardship Fund — a discretionary payment under Section 13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The hardship fund has its own criteria and doesn't automatically follow the same capital rules, though you'll need to demonstrate that you've exhausted other options.

Pension-Age Claimants Have Different Rules

If you've reached State Pension age, the national scheme applies instead of East Riding's local scheme. The pension-age capital limit is £16,000, unless you receive Pension Credit Guarantee Credit. Support can reach up to 100% of the bill.

The East Riding Council Tax Reduction guide covers both the capital rules and the worked examples showing how savings interact with income bands for working-age households.

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