Single Person Discount Council Tax East Riding of Yorkshire

The single person discount knocks 25% off your council tax bill if you are the only adult counted in your household. In East Riding of Yorkshire, it is the most widely claimed council tax reduction — and it stacks with Council Tax Reduction for working-age residents on a low income, which means the combined saving can be substantial.

Who Qualifies

You qualify for the 25% single person discount if you are aged 18 or over, pay council tax, and live on your own. You do not have to own the property.

Certain people are "disregarded" even if they live with you. If everyone else in your household falls into a disregarded category, you still qualify. Disregarded people include:

• Full-time students on college or university courses lasting at least one academic year (24 weeks) with 21+ hours of study per week during term time
• Student nurses on qualifying courses that lead to nurse registration
• Apprentices earning no more than £195 per week and meeting the statutory training criteria
• People with severe mental impairment whose condition appears permanent, who have a registered practitioner's certificate, and who receive a qualifying benefit
• Care workers employed by a local authority or similar body, working at least 24 hours a week at their designated workplace and earning no more than £44 per week for that care
• People under 20 in full-time education for a qualification up to A-level, studying at least 12 hours per week on a course lasting at least three months
• Members of visiting forces and certain diplomatic staff
• Live-in carers who are not your spouse or partner and meet the qualifying care-hours and benefit criteria

A common situation: you live with your 19-year-old child who is at university. They are disregarded as a full-time student, so you count as the only qualifying adult and get the 25% discount.

How to Apply

Apply through the East Riding council tax portal at eastriding.gov.uk/mycounciltax, or call (01482) 393939. You will need to confirm your household composition — who lives at the address and whether anyone qualifies for disregard.

If you have recently had someone move out (a partner, a flatmate, an adult child), report the change promptly. The council can confirm when the discount will take effect. Apply for it if it is not already shown on your bill.

How It Interacts With Council Tax Reduction

The single person discount is applied before Council Tax Reduction is calculated. This means the 25% comes off first, and then your income-based reduction percentage is applied to the smaller figure.

Here is why that matters. Take a Band A property in East Riding with a gross annual charge of around £1,310:

• Without the single person discount, your eligible liability is £1,310
• With the discount, it drops to roughly £982
• If you then qualify for 70% Council Tax Reduction, you get 70% of £982 (about £688 off) rather than 70% of £1,310

The single person discount does not change which income band you fall into — your Council Tax Reduction tier is still based on your net weekly income. But it reduces the base amount that the percentage is applied to, so your final bill is lower.

If you live alone, are on a low income, and have not claimed both the single person discount and Council Tax Reduction, you may be paying significantly more than you need to.

Losing the Discount

If someone moves into your property — a partner, a friend, an adult child returning from university — tell the council promptly so it can update your bill. Failing to report a change can lead to a revised bill and charges for any discount you were not entitled to receive.

The council runs periodic reviews and data-matching exercises to detect households where the single person discount no longer applies. If a review letter arrives, respond within the deadline (usually 21 days) with accurate household information, even if nothing has changed — failure to respond can result in the discount being removed.

Applying for Both

If you are the only qualifying adult in your East Riding household and your income is low enough to qualify for Council Tax Reduction, claim both. The single person discount is straightforward — it takes one phone call or online form. Council Tax Reduction requires more evidence (income, savings, household details), but the full application guide walks through everything you need to provide and how the income bands work.

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