Wiltshire Council Tax Reduction Eligibility and Savings Limit

The Four Conditions You Must Meet

Wiltshire Council's CTR scheme has four qualifying thresholds. Miss any one and the claim is rejected before the means test even starts.

1. Council tax liability. You or your partner must be legally liable to pay council tax on a residential property within Wiltshire Council's boundaries. Lodgers and sub-tenants whose name isn't on the bill can't claim.

2. Main residence. The property must be your sole or main home. Second homes and investment properties don't qualify.

3. Low income or qualifying benefit. Your household income must fall below the applicable amount for your circumstances, or you must receive a means-tested benefit like Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, or income-related ESA.

4. Capital below £10,000. This is the hard cutoff for working-age applicants in Wiltshire. If your total household savings, investments, and liquid assets hit £10,000, you're excluded from the scheme entirely — regardless of how low your income is.

For pensioner households (where no one receives UC and both partners have reached State Pension age), the national capital limit is £16,000 instead.

How the £10,000 Savings Limit Works

The capital test looks at the combined household capital, savings, and liquid investments of you and your partner. This includes bank accounts, building society accounts, post office accounts, ISAs, premium bonds, and other savings or investments that could be turned into cash. Check with the council how a specific asset is treated before leaving it out of your total.

Wiltshire Council requires two consecutive months of complete bank statements for every open account. Submit complete statements; if you are unsure whether an item can be redacted, ask the council before doing so.

The Deprivation of Capital Trap

If you are considering giving away or spending capital before applying, ask Wiltshire Council or Citizens Advice how that action will be treated before relying on the £10,000 threshold.

Who's Excluded Outright

Some categories can't claim CTR regardless of income:

• People subject to immigration control under Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or anyone who fails the Habitual Residence Test
• Most full-time students — unless you're a lone parent, disabled, or part of a student couple with dependent children
• Anyone with capital at or above £10,000 (working age)

The Means Test in Practice

If you pass the four conditions, Wiltshire Council runs a means test comparing your countable income against an "applicable amount" — a baseline figure based on your household size, ages, and disability status.

The council calculates your income after applying standard disregards: earned income disregards (based on household type), childcare cost disregards (for registered childcare), and the full 100% disregard of any War Pension income.

If your income is at or below the applicable amount, you qualify for the maximum award (80% for standard working-age, up to 100% for protected groups). If it's above, the means-test taper reduces the award.

Check Before You Apply

You can get a rough idea of eligibility from the GOV.UK benefits calculator or by calling Citizens Advice Wiltshire on 0808 278 7995. But for the precise calculation under Wiltshire's local rules — including the protected-group uplift and the Band D restriction cap for non-protected households — our Wiltshire Council Tax Reduction guide includes an eligibility self-assessment worksheet and three worked examples at different income levels.

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