Wandsworth Council Tax Reduction Income Limits and Scheme Levels

How Wandsworth's Five-Tier Scheme Works

Unlike most English councils that use a sliding taper across all incomes, Wandsworth groups working-age claimants into five discrete scheme levels. Each level has its own reduction percentage, earnings cap, and capital limit. Where you land depends on three things: your household composition, your benefit status, and your net weekly earnings.

The Five Scheme Levels for 2026/27

Scheme 1 — 100% reduction. You qualify if you or your partner receives PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, or is in the ESA Support Group or UC LCWRA group, provided earned income remains below the applicable Scheme 4 or Scheme 5 cap. It also covers households with a child under three and zero earned income. Capital must be below £16,000.

Scheme 2 — 90% reduction. Households with at least one dependent child, no earned income, receiving Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, or unemployed Universal Credit, unless a Scheme 1 condition applies. Capital must be below £16,000.

Scheme 3 — 75% reduction. Same benefit conditions as Scheme 2, but no dependent children, unless a Scheme 1 condition applies. Capital must be below £16,000.

Scheme 4 — 80% reduction. Working households with dependent children that do not qualify for Scheme 1. Net weekly earnings must stay below £250 (one or two children) or £275 (three or more children). Capital must not exceed £6,000.

Scheme 5 — 75% reduction. Working households without dependent children that do not qualify for Scheme 1. Net weekly earnings must stay below £125 (single person) or £160 (couple). Capital must not exceed £6,000.

How Net Weekly Earnings Are Calculated

Wandsworth does not use your gross pay. Net weekly earnings start with gross salary and subtract:

• Income tax
• Class 1 or Class 2 National Insurance contributions
• Half of any voluntary pension contributions

After that, the council applies standard disregards: £5 per week for a single person, £10 for a couple, £25 for a lone parent, and £20 for a disabled claimant. If you work 16+ hours, an additional £17.10 weekly work disregard applies.

Childcare costs can also be deducted — up to £175 per week for one child or £300 for two or more — if you are a lone parent or both partners in a couple work at least 16 hours, and the care is provided by a registered childminder, nursery, or approved after-school scheme for a child under 15 (or under 16 if disabled).

Non-Dependant Deductions

If another adult lives with you who is not your partner — an adult child, a relative, a friend — Wandsworth subtracts a fixed weekly amount from your CTR award based on that person's gross income. The logic is that other working adults in the household should contribute toward the council tax.

No deduction applies if you or your partner receives PIP daily living, DLA care component, or Attendance Allowance, or is registered blind. Non-dependants who are full-time students, under 18, receiving Pension Credit, under 25 on Income Support, income-based JSA, or assessment-phase income-related ESA, or who are hospital inpatients for 52 continuous weeks or more or prisoners, are also exempt from generating a deduction.

What This Means in Practice

A single worker earning £120 net per week with no savings falls under Scheme 5 (below the £125 cap). On a Band D property with a 25% Single Person Discount, the annual bill is £765.26. A 75% reduction brings the remaining bill down to about £191 for the year.

A couple with two children earning £240 net per week combined with £4,000 in savings falls under Scheme 4 (below the £250 cap, capital under £6,000). On Band D at £1,020.35, an 80% reduction leaves roughly £204 payable for the year.

The Wandsworth Council Tax Reduction guide includes a scheme-level identifier worksheet and a net weekly earnings calculator so you can confirm exactly which tier applies to your household before you start the application.

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