Walsall Council Tax: Carer Disregards and Non-Dependant Deductions

How Carer Status Affects Your Council Tax in Walsall

If you're a carer living in a property where the person you look after also lives, you may be "disregarded" for council tax purposes. A disregarded person doesn't count as an adult occupant of the property — which can unlock the 25% Single Person Discount even when two or more adults live there.

To qualify for the carer disregard, you need to provide at least 35 hours of care per week to someone who receives the higher or middle rate of Disability Living Allowance (care component), the daily living component of PIP at either rate, or Attendance Allowance. You must also live in the same property as the person you care for.

The disregard doesn't apply if you're caring for your spouse or partner, or for a child under 18 who you're responsible for as a parent.

What the Carer Disregard Means in Practice

If you're the only other adult in a household with a disabled person, and you qualify as a disregarded carer, the property is treated as having one countable adult. That triggers the 25% Single Person Discount automatically.

This discount is separate from Council Tax Reduction. They work on top of each other — CTR is calculated after the Single Person Discount has been applied, so you benefit twice.

For the CTR income assessment itself, Carer's Allowance is counted as income (it's not disregarded like PIP or DLA). But the carer disregard for occupancy purposes — the bit that unlocks the Single Person Discount — is a separate mechanism that depends on your caring role, not on whether you claim Carer's Allowance.

Non-Dependant Deductions

Non-dependants are adults living in your home who aren't your partner — typically grown-up children, siblings, or other relatives. Walsall does not add a non-dependant's full income to your income-band figure. Instead, its scheme normally makes a fixed weekly deduction from your reduction: £10 for a non-dependant aged 18 or over in remunerative work, or £5 if they are not in remunerative work.

The council needs to know who lives with you and may ask for evidence of each non-dependant's income. If an adult child moves in after starting work, report the change promptly. Walsall's scheme gives you one calendar month to notify the council, while the separate 21-day prompt-notification rule can affect penalties.

The scheme makes no deduction for some non-dependants, including people receiving Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Universal Credit calculated on the basis that they have no earned income. Other exceptions also apply.

Getting Both Right on Your Application

The claim form asks about every adult in the household. For each non-dependant, you'll need evidence of their gross income — payslips or benefit letters. For the carer disregard, you'll need to demonstrate the 35-hour caring threshold and the qualifying disability benefit of the person you care for.

Missing either of these when you apply means the council processes your claim without the disregard or with incorrect non-dependant assumptions — both of which reduce your discount.

Our Walsall Council Tax Reduction guide includes a household composition worksheet that maps each person in the home to their correct classification, so your application reflects your actual household structure from the start.

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