Southwark Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions: Single Person, Disabled Band, SMI and Carer Disregard

How Discounts and Exemptions Differ From Council Tax Reduction

Council Tax Reduction is a means-tested scheme that reduces your bill based on income and savings. Discounts and exemptions are separate — they reduce the gross bill before CTR is even calculated. You can have both, and combining them often produces the biggest saving.

Southwark applies discounts and exemptions to your bill first, then calculates CTR on the reduced amount. Understanding what you're entitled to before you apply for CTR means your application starts from a lower base liability.

Single Person Discount (25%)

If you're the only adult living in your property, you qualify for a 25% reduction on your Council Tax bill. "Only adult" means the council doesn't count anyone else as a resident for Council Tax purposes — and several categories of people are disregarded even if they physically live there.

Southwark's scheme information identifies full-time students and people who meet the severe mental impairment rules among the categories that can be disregarded. Other disregards, including carer and care leaver reliefs, have their own eligibility rules; check the council's current guidance before relying on them.

So if you live with an adult child who's a full-time university student, you still qualify. If you live with someone who has a severe mental impairment certificate and receives a qualifying benefit, they're disregarded and you still qualify.

Apply through Southwark's Council Tax team and ask what evidence is needed for anyone who should be disregarded.

Disabled Band Reduction

Southwark's scheme information says a specially adapted home that meets a disabled resident's needs can qualify to be treated as one valuation band lower for Council Tax. Ask the Council Tax team what evidence of the adaptation and disability it requires.

Severe Mental Impairment (SMI) Disregard

A person certified as severely mentally impaired by a registered medical practitioner is disregarded for Council Tax purposes entirely. This affects the household's bill in two ways:

First, the person doesn't count as an adult for discount calculations. If you live alone with an SMI-disregarded person, you qualify for the Single Person Discount.

Second, if the property is occupied only by SMI-disregarded people, it's exempt from Council Tax altogether — a 100% exemption.

To qualify for the SMI disregard, the person must be certified as severely mentally impaired by a registered medical practitioner and receive a qualifying benefit. Southwark's scheme information gives PIP daily living component and Attendance Allowance as examples; ask the council whether another benefit qualifies.

This is one of the most underclaimed reliefs in the country. It applies to people with conditions like dementia, severe learning disabilities, and acquired brain injuries — but many families don't know the disregard exists.

Carer Disregard

Carer disregard is a separate Council Tax rule from CTR. Check Southwark's current carer-disregard guidance to confirm whether the carer and the person receiving care meet its criteria.

Stacking Discounts With CTR

These discounts reduce your gross liability. CTR then reduces the discounted amount. Here's how they compound:

Take a Band D property with an annual charge of £1,820. Apply the Single Person Discount: 75% of £1,820 = £1,365. If CTR then covers 80% of the remaining liability, you pay only £273 for the year.

Without the Single Person Discount, 80% CTR on the full £1,820 leaves you paying £364. The discount saved an extra £91.

Apply for each relief you believe applies, following Southwark's instructions. Ask the council how it will combine the relief with CTR so you can check that your bill reflects the decision.

The Southwark Council Tax Reduction guide covers how these discounts interact with the means test and includes a checklist for the evidence you'll need for each one.

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