Student Nurse Council Tax Exemption Scotland

How Student Nurses Are Treated for Council Tax

Student nurses in Scotland qualify as disregarded persons under Article 7 of the Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Consolidation and Amendment Order 2003. They sit in their own statutory category — separate from the general full-time student disregard — and the qualifying conditions are different.

To be disregarded as a student nurse, you must be undertaking a course which, if successfully completed, leads to first registration in the Nurses' Part or Midwives' Part of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. In practice, that covers:

• Adult nursing degrees (BSc/BN)
• Mental health nursing degrees
• Children's nursing degrees
• Learning disability nursing degrees
• Midwifery degrees
• Specialist community public health nursing courses
• Nursing associate programmes leading to NMC registration

The institution must be one of those specified in Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Order, including a fundable body or a college of nursing and midwifery or health college established by a Health Board or health authority.

What This Means for Your Council Tax Bill

If you are a student nurse living alone, you are the sole resident but also disregarded. The property qualifies for the standard 50% all-disregarded discount; the student-nurse disregard alone does not create a full dwelling exemption.

If you share with other disregarded persons and no counted adult remains, the standard reduction is 50% unless a separate dwelling exemption applies. A home occupied entirely by qualifying full-time students is exempt under Class 10; care-leaver households may also qualify for a separate local care-leaver policy.

If you share with a working adult, they get a 25% single person discount because you are disregarded from the headcount.

Applying for the Disregard

Your institution needs to issue a council tax certificate confirming you are enrolled on an NMC-qualifying nursing course. The certificate should identify you and the course and give its start and end dates.

Submit the certificate to your council's revenues department. Most Scottish councils accept this through their online portal via mygov.scot, alongside a single person discount or household exemption application.

Placement Periods and NHS Bursaries

Clinical placements are part of your course. Your disregard continues throughout placement blocks, whether they take place in a hospital, GP surgery, or community setting. You remain enrolled and your institution continues to certify your student status during these periods.

Receiving an NHS bursary or a Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) bursary does not affect your disregard. The council tax system looks at your course enrolment, not your funding source.

If you work additional paid shifts alongside your course — bank shifts, for example — that employment does not by itself end your student-nurse disregard while you remain within the qualifying course period.

For the full process of counting residents, proving your disregard status, and handling any council pushback, the Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions Scotland guide walks through it step by step.

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