Somerset Council Tax Non-Dependant Deductions: What Happens When Adult Children Live at Home

If an adult child, elderly relative, or any other adult is treated as a non-dependant living in your Somerset home, the council deducts a flat £10 per week from your Council Tax Reduction award for each one. That's £520 a year per non-dependant — money taken straight off the top of whatever discount you'd otherwise receive.

How the Deduction Works

Somerset Council's non-dependant deduction is deliberately simple: £10.00 per week, per non-dependant adult, regardless of that person's income. It doesn't matter whether your adult child earns £50,000 a year or is unemployed — the deduction is the same flat amount.

The logic is that another adult in your household should be contributing toward the council tax, so the council reduces your CTR to reflect that assumed contribution.

Here's the impact in practice. Say you're a single parent in a Band C property with a 100% CTR award of £26.25 per week. If your 19-year-old child lives at home, the council deducts £10.00, leaving you with a £16.25 weekly award. You're now paying £10.00 per week out of pocket — £520 per year — even though your income qualifies you for the maximum discount.

Two non-dependant adults in the home? That's £20.00 per week deducted, which can wipe out most of a CTR award entirely.

Who Counts as a Non-Dependant

A non-dependant is any adult (aged 18 or over) who lives in your property and isn't your partner or your dependent child. The most common non-dependants are:

• Adult children who've finished education and still live at home
• Elderly parents or relatives you've taken in
• Other adult relatives or friends sharing your home

Your partner is never a non-dependant — they're assessed as part of your household. Children you receive Child Benefit for are treated as dependants, not non-dependants.

The University Student Trap

This is where Somerset's rules catch families off guard. Adult students whose primary address remained registered in Somerset were among the households affected by the £10 deduction. But a registered address alone does not establish how the council will classify a student who spends term time elsewhere, so check with Somerset Council before assuming the deduction applies or that an exemption removes it.

Term-time accommodation does not by itself answer whether Somerset will count your child as living with you or apply the deduction. If you believe the council has classified their residence incorrectly, ask it to review the decision and explain what evidence it needs.

Check Before Assuming an Exemption

Somerset's working-age scheme sets a flat £10/week deduction for each non-dependant adult. Do not assume that Pension Credit or full-time student status waives the deduction. Joint owners or tenants named on the Council Tax liability are a different category from non-dependants. Ask Somerset Council to confirm how it classifies a particular person before relying on an exemption.

What You Can Do About It

You can't negotiate the deduction amount — it's a fixed scheme rule. But you can:

1. Check whether exemptions apply to any non-dependant in your home
2. Apply for the Exceptional Hardship Scheme if the deduction pushes your bill beyond what you can afford
3. Appeal the decision if you believe the deduction has been applied incorrectly — for example, if the council counts someone as a non-dependant who doesn't actually live at your address

Our Somerset Council Tax Reduction guide includes a non-dependant deduction worksheet that helps you calculate the impact on your award and identify whether any exemptions apply to your household.

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