How to Claim Council Tax Carer Disregard Without Paying a Claims Company

You can claim the council tax carer disregard yourself, for free, through your local council — and keep every penny of the refund. For the unpaid-carer route, you need to show that you provide an average of at least 35 hours of care a week to someone with a qualifying disability benefit in payment or awarded retrospectively for the period claimed, that you are not their spouse or partner, and that you share their sole or main residence. If you are caring for your own child, the child must be 18 or older. The separate low-paid live-in care-worker route has different eligibility conditions. No part of this requires professional representation, legal advice, or a claims company.

Claims companies charge 25% to 30% plus VAT of whatever the council refunds. On a backdated carer disregard claim covering three to six years, that refund can run into thousands of pounds. The company submits the same form to the same council revenues team using the same statutory criteria you would use yourself. The decision is the council's either way — paying a percentage does not change the outcome, only who fills in the paperwork.

Here is exactly what a claims company does, and how to do each step yourself.

Step 1: Check Whether You Qualify

A claims company's first step is screening — they assess whether you meet the statutory conditions before taking you on. You can do this in 15 minutes.

For unpaid carers (family members, friends):

• You provide an average of at least 35 hours of care per week to the care recipient
• For the period claimed, the care recipient has a qualifying benefit in payment or awarded retrospectively: PIP Daily Living (standard or enhanced), Attendance Allowance (any rate), DLA Care (middle or highest rate), Armed Forces Independence Payment or Constant Attendance Allowance. When someone moves from Scotland to England, an Adult Disability Payment Daily Living Component or Pension Age Disability Payment at Standard or Higher Rate is also recognized.
• You are not the spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner of the care recipient
• You are not a parent caring for a child under 18
• You share the care recipient's sole or main residence

For low-paid live-in care workers:

• You are employed by a local authority, public body or charity, or employed directly by the care recipient or a family member after being introduced by one of those bodies
• You work at least 24 hours per week providing care and support
• Your total remuneration does not exceed £44 per week
• You live in accommodation provided by or on behalf of the employer or charity for the better performance of your care duties

If you meet the conditions for either route, you qualify. If the partner exclusion applies, the carer disregard is blocked by law — but the person you care for may qualify for the Severe Mental Impairment disregard instead, which can reduce the bill through a different route.

Step 2: Gather the Evidence

A claims company asks you to provide documents. These are the same documents you would attach to a self-submitted application:

Prepare evidence for the route you are claiming:

• For the unpaid-carer route, the care recipient's award letter from the authority that issued the qualifying benefit, showing the award applies to the period claimed. If you cannot find it, contact that benefit office to request a replacement. For an existing PIP claim, call 0800 121 4433; for Attendance Allowance, call 0800 731 0122. DLA contact numbers depend on the claimant's date of birth; see the GOV.UK Disability Service Centre page. A Universal Credit journal or personal tax account does not replace evidence of a qualifying disability-benefit award.
• Proof of your address at the property (utility bill, bank statement, or council tax bill in your name)
• A care log or signed declaration showing an average of at least 35 hours of weekly care. Councils may accept a declaration or ask for supporting evidence; most provide no care-log template. The Carer Disregard Guide includes a structured weekly care activity log to help organize the evidence.

If claiming as a care worker:

• An employment contract showing weekly care hours and written confirmation of the employing or introducing public body or charity
• Payslips or a financial statement showing total weekly remuneration at or below £44
• Evidence that the accommodation is provided under the employment arrangement

Step 3: Calculate Who Counts

This is where claims companies add genuine value for complex households — working out the discount percentage. But the calculation follows fixed statutory rules that a household occupancy worksheet handles.

Count every adult in the property. For each one, check whether a disregard applies:

• The carer → disregarded under the carer provisions
• A person with severe mental impairment (e.g., dementia, certified by a registered medical practitioner, and on a qualifying benefit) → disregarded under SMI provisions
• A full-time student, apprentice, or severe mental impairment holder → disregarded under their respective categories

Then count the remaining adults:

• One countable adult → 25% single-person discount
• Zero countable adults → 50% discount; a full Class U exemption applies only where the home is occupied solely by one or more people with severe mental impairment and one or more qualifying live-in carers
• Two or more countable adults → the carer disregard still applies (it removes the carer from the count), but there is no discount unless the count drops to one or zero

The guide's household occupancy calculator maps every common living arrangement to the correct outcome.

Step 4: Work Out the Backdating

Claims companies calculate how far back the refund goes and include the backdating request in the application. You can do the same with a simple date alignment:

There is no statutory time limit on backdating in England. The discount runs from the date all qualifying conditions were first met simultaneously. You need three dates:

1. When the care recipient's qualifying benefit started — this is on the benefit award letter, including any retrospective award
2. When the carer moved into the property — or when care hours first reached 35 per week
3. When all other conditions were met — including the non-partner requirement

The earliest date when all three overlap is your backdating start date. Multiply the years by the annual bill reduction (25%, 50%, or the 100% Class U exemption if eligible) to estimate the refund.

A five-year backdated claim at 25% on a Band D property (average bill over £2,200) is worth roughly £2,750. A claims company at 25% plus VAT takes £825 of that. At 50% discount and six years, the numbers are much larger.

Step 5: Submit the Application

Find your council's application route. This varies — some councils have an online portal, others use a downloadable PDF form, and some still accept postal applications only. Search "[your council name] carer disregard application" or call the revenues team directly.

Attach:

• The completed application form
• The DWP benefit award letter
• Your proof of address
• The weekly care log (if your council asks for evidence of the 35-hour threshold)
• A covering letter or note requesting backdating to your calculated start date

Keep a copy of everything you send and note the date. If posting, use recorded delivery. If submitting online, screenshot the confirmation. The guide includes a claim tracker template for logging every interaction.

Step 6: If They Refuse

This is the step that worries most people — and the main reason some choose a claims company. But the appeal process is free and does not require representation.

If the council refuses the carer disregard:

1. Request the written decision. You need the council's reasons in writing to identify what to challenge.
2. Submit a formal section 16 written grievance. The Local Government Finance Act 1992, section 16, gives you the right to challenge the council's calculation. The letter must identify the statute, state which element of the calculation is wrong, and attach the evidence. The council has two months to consider the grievance and reply in writing.
3. Appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England. If the council rejects the grievance or does not reply within two months, you can appeal to the VTE within two months of the council's final decision notice or, if the council does not reply, within two months after the council's response period expires. The VTE is free to file and does not require legal representation. Hearings are informal — you present your evidence and the council presents theirs.

The Carer Disregard Guide includes templates and statutory references for both the section 16 grievance and the VTE appeal.

Who This Approach Is For

• Family carers who are comfortable filling in forms and gathering documents — which, if you already manage benefit claims, GP appointments and medication schedules, you almost certainly are
• Anyone who wants to keep the entire backdated refund without paying a percentage
• Adult children helping a parent with permission, or acting under a registered Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney, Court of Protection deputyship order or DWP appointeeship where the parent lacks capacity
• People who have been told by a claims company that they qualify and are now considering whether to sign the contract or do it themselves
• Anyone who has already started the application and hit a specific obstacle — the 35-hour evidence requirement, the household calculation, or the backdating dates

Who Should Use a Claims Company Instead

• Someone who has no family member or friend able to help with the paperwork and cannot manage it themselves due to a disability or cognitive impairment
• People who have already received a refusal and a VTE appeal deadline is approaching, where getting professional help filed quickly matters more than the fee
• Households with an unusually complex situation — multiple properties, split tenancies, or a dispute about who is liable for the bill — where the statutory rules may not map cleanly to a standard application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the council tax carer disregard application really free?

Yes. Applying to the council for a carer disregard costs nothing. The council is legally required to process the application and apply the disregard if the statutory conditions are met. Claims companies charge for the service of preparing and submitting the application on your behalf, but the application itself is free.

Do I need to get Carer's Allowance before I can claim the carer disregard?

No. This is one of the most common misconceptions, and some council websites still state it incorrectly. The council tax carer disregard has its own qualifying conditions — an average of at least 35 hours of weekly care, shared sole or main residence, a qualifying benefit in payment or awarded retrospectively for the period claimed, the non-partner rule, and the under-18 child exclusion. Whether you claim or receive Carer's Allowance is completely irrelevant to the council tax disregard.

What if I can't find the DWP benefit award letter?

Contact the office that issued the qualifying benefit and request a replacement letter. For an existing PIP claim, call 0800 121 4433; for Attendance Allowance, call 0800 731 0122. DLA contact numbers depend on the claimant's date of birth; see the GOV.UK Disability Service Centre page. A Universal Credit journal or personal tax account does not replace evidence of a qualifying disability-benefit award. Ask the council what it will accept while the replacement letter is being issued.

How long does the council take to process the application?

Processing times vary by council — typically 21 to 28 days for a written decision, though some councils take longer on backdated claims. There is no fixed national processing deadline. If you have not received a decision after 28 days, contact the revenues team with your reference number. The guide includes a correspondence tracker for monitoring deadlines.

Can I switch from a claims company to doing it myself partway through?

Check the agreement's cancellation and fee terms before doing anything. Your right to cancel and any fee for work already started depend on how the contract was made and what the agreement says; if the terms are unclear, get independent advice before cancelling.

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