Salford Council Tax Reduction Income Bands 2026/27 — Thresholds and Award Rates
Salford's income-banded Council Tax Reduction scheme sorts working-age Universal Credit households into five bands based on net monthly income. The band you fall into determines how much of your council tax bill the reduction covers — and the thresholds changed on 1 April 2026, so last year's figures no longer apply.
The 2026/27 Income Band Table
Each column shows the net monthly income range for that band. Find your household type, find the row that matches your income, and the award percentage tells you how much of your council tax is covered.
| Band | Award | Single | Couple | 1 Child | 2+ Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88% | £0 – £468.04 | £0 – £725.44 | £0 – £1,053.09 | £0 – £1,652.13 |
| 2 | 75% | £468.05 – £631.84 | £725.45 – £889.24 | £1,053.10 – £1,146.69 | £1,652.14 – £1,787.85 |
| 3 | 50% | £631.85 – £772.24 | £889.25 – £1,099.89 | £1,146.70 – £1,357.29 | £1,787.86 – £1,965.69 |
| 4 | 25% | £772.25 – £912.69 | £1,099.90 – £1,263.69 | £1,357.30 – £1,591.29 | £1,965.70 – £2,129.53 |
| 5 | 10% | £912.70 – £1,053.09 | £1,263.70 – £1,427.49 | £1,591.30 – £1,755.13 | £2,129.54 – £2,246.53 |
If your income exceeds the Band 5 ceiling for your household type, you don't qualify.
What Counts as Income (and What Doesn't)
"Net monthly income" in Salford's scheme isn't just your pay packet. It's a specific calculation:
Counted:
- Net earned income (after income tax, National Insurance, and 50% of pension contributions)
- Net Universal Credit payment — but with the housing element, disabled child element, carer element, LCWRA element, and childcare element all stripped out first
- Carer's Allowance
- State and private pensions — though 45% is disregarded for working-age couples
Not counted (fully disregarded):
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Attendance Allowance
- Child Benefit
- War Pensions and War Disablement Allowances
- Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments
- Universal Credit Transitional Protection Payments (from April 2026)
The pension disregard is new for 2026/27 and specifically designed for mixed-age couples — where a working-age person cares for a partner who's reached pension age. It can make a meaningful difference: if a household receives £400/month in occupational pension, only £220 counts towards the income calculation.
How the Bands Differ From Last Year
Salford raised all five band thresholds for 2026/27. For a single claimant, the Band 1 ceiling moved from £440.70 to £468.04 — a £27.34 increase. Couples saw Band 1 rise from £683.09 to £725.44. Families with two or more children got the biggest absolute increase, with Band 1 moving from £1,555.67 to £1,652.13.
If you were close to a band boundary last year, the uprated thresholds may push you into a better band this year without any change in your actual income.
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Why the Bands Matter More Than They Look
The gap between bands isn't trivial. Moving from Band 2 (75%) to Band 3 (50%) on a £1,400/year council tax bill means paying an extra £350. A single claimant earning £631 a month sits in Band 2; one earning £632 drops to Band 3. Understanding exactly where the boundaries fall — and which income components you can legitimately reduce in the calculation — is worth the time.
The most commonly overlooked adjustment is the UC component stripping. Many residents assume their full UC payment counts. It doesn't. If your UC includes a housing element of £600 and a childcare element of £200, that £800 is removed before the income figure is calculated, potentially dropping you one or two bands.
For a worked example using your actual household figures and a breakdown of every disregard that applies, see our Salford Council Tax Reduction guide.
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