Hillingdon Council Tax Reduction for Carers and Lone Parents

How Carers Fit Into Hillingdon's CTR Scheme

Hillingdon's 2026/27 working-age Council Tax Reduction scheme doesn't have a separate "carers discount" — but being a carer changes how your income is calculated in ways that can push you into a higher reduction band.

If you receive the Carer Element within Universal Credit, that element is deducted from your gross UC award before Hillingdon maps your income to its banding grid. The same applies to Carer's Allowance received outside UC — it's treated as income, but the £25 weekly earnings disregard still applies to any separate earned income on top.

The practical effect: if your UC includes a Carer Element, Hillingdon excludes that element before band assessment. What looks like a comfortable total UC payment on your journal may place you in a lower income band once the Carer Element is deducted.

The Separate Carer Disregard for Council Tax

Separately from CTR, there's a national council tax disregard for live-in carers. If you live with someone and provide at least 35 hours of care per week to a person who receives the higher rate of Attendance Allowance, DLA middle or higher rate care component, or PIP daily living (either rate), you can be disregarded for council tax purposes.

The disregard means you don't count as an adult in the property. If the person you care for is the only other resident, they may then qualify for the 25% single person discount. You can't be disregarded for caring for your spouse or partner, or for a child under 18.

Apply for the carer disregard through Hillingdon Council's council tax team with evidence of your caring role — a Carer's Allowance award letter or a supporting letter from the person's GP or social worker.

Lone Parents and Household Thresholds

Lone parents benefit from two features of Hillingdon's scheme. First, children under 20 who you receive Child Benefit for are dependants — they don't count as additional adults and don't trigger non-dependant deductions. Second, the income band thresholds increase with children in the household.

A single person without children qualifies for Band 3 (75% reduction) at up to £90 per week net income. A family with one child qualifies for the same 75% reduction at up to £150 per week. Two or more children extends the Band 3 threshold to £260 per week. The wider bands mean a lone parent working part-time is far more likely to land in a high-reduction band than a single person on the same wage.

As the only countable adult, a lone parent also automatically qualifies for the 25% single person discount on the council tax bill. That discount is applied first, reducing the gross liability. Then CTR is calculated on the reduced amount.

Overlap: Carer Who Is Also a Lone Parent

A lone parent caring for a disabled child may stack multiple protections. The Disabled Child Element of UC is deducted before band assessment. If the child receives DLA or PIP, the parent potentially qualifies for Band 2 (the disability gateway band, still at 75% reduction) with wider income thresholds — up to £330 per week for a family with one child.

The council tax single person discount applies because children are disregarded. The result can be a 75% CTR on an already-discounted bill, leaving a residual weekly payment of under £10 on a typical Hillingdon property.

How to Apply

Both CTR and the carer disregard are applied through Hillingdon Council. For CTR, use the NEC online welfare application portal — you'll need your latest UC statement, proof of earnings if any, and bank statements for the past two months (unredacted). For the carer disregard, contact the council tax team separately.

The Hillingdon CTR guide walks through the full income-band grid, non-dependant deductions, and the evidence upload process step by step. If you're caring and your income fluctuates, the guide's income band calculator worksheet helps you track where you'll land each month.

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