Salford Council Tax Non-Dependant Deduction — Who Pays the £7 and Who's Exempt

If another adult lives in your Salford home and you claim Council Tax Reduction, the council assumes they contribute to household costs — and deducts £7.00 per week from your CTR award for each qualifying non-dependant. For households with multiple adults, this can reduce the award significantly. But several exemptions exist, and they're often missed.

What Makes Someone a Non-Dependant

A non-dependant is any adult living in your property who is not your partner, not jointly liable for council tax, and not a commercial tenant (someone paying rent at a market rate under a formal tenancy). In practice, this usually means:

• Adult children aged 21 or over who live at home
• Parents or relatives staying with you
• Friends who live in the property without a formal tenancy

Your spouse or civil partner is never a non-dependant — they're part of your household for CTR purposes. A lodger paying market-rate rent under a genuine tenancy isn't a non-dependant either.

The £7 Flat Rate

Salford's 2026/27 scheme applies a single flat rate: £7.00 per week for every non-dependant who doesn't qualify for an exemption. This is a flat deduction regardless of the non-dependant's income — whether they earn £500 or £5,000 a month, the deduction is the same £7.00 per week.

Some other councils use tiered deductions based on the non-dependant's income (Trafford, for example, charges £9.00 per week). Salford's flat rate is simpler but means there's no graduated scale — you either pay the full £7 or you're exempt.

The impact adds up. A claimant in Band 1 (88%) on a £28/week council tax liability gets a CTR award of £24.64. One non-dependant deduction drops that to £17.64. Two non-dependants drop it to £10.64. With three non-dependants, the deductions alone consume nearly the entire award.

Exemptions That Waive the Deduction

Claimant-side exemptions

No non-dependant deductions are taken at all — for any non-dependant — if the claimant or their partner:

• Is registered blind
• Receives DLA Care Component at middle or higher rate
• Receives PIP Daily Living Component (either rate)
• Receives Attendance Allowance (either rate)

This is a blanket protection. If you receive qualifying disability benefits, every non-dependant in your household is exempt, regardless of their age, income, or employment status.

Non-dependant-side exemptions

Even when the claimant doesn't have disability protection, individual non-dependants are exempt if they:

• Are under 21 years old
• Are a full-time student or enrolled in approved youth training
• Receive Pension Credit
• Receive DLA Care Component (middle or higher rate)
• Receive PIP Daily Living Component
• Receive Attendance Allowance
• Receive Carer's Allowance
• Are the primary caregiver for a child under 5

Each non-dependant is assessed individually. If you have two adult children — one aged 19 (under 21, exempt) and one aged 24 who works full-time (no exemption) — only the 24-year-old generates a deduction.

How to Check and Challenge

When you receive your CTR decision notice, it should list any non-dependant deductions that have been applied. Check each one:

• Is the person actually a non-dependant (not a partner, not a commercial tenant)?
• Do they meet any of the exemption criteria?
• Has the council correctly identified how many non-dependants live in the property?

If a deduction has been wrongly applied — say the council didn't know your non-dependant receives PIP — you can request a revision by reporting the change through the online portal, providing the non-dependant's benefit award letter as evidence. If the deduction is removed, the additional CTR is credited to your account and your bill is revised.

For the full list of exemptions and how to handle non-dependant disputes, see our Salford Council Tax Reduction guide.

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