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Full-time student Council Tax discount and exemptions
If you're a full-time student you may be eligible for a discount on your Council Tax bill.
Who qualifies for an exemption
You are exempt from paying Council Tax if you are:
- a full-time student
- a foreign language assistant
- a foreign spouse of a student who is prevented from working or claiming benefit
- live in a property where all tenants are full-time students
- a student nurse – if you are undertaking a course which would (if successfully completed) lead to becoming a nurse, midwife or a health visitor
If there’s a non-student in the property they will pay
The property cannot be exempt – the non student is responsible for the bill and may be able to get a reduction. For example this may be a single parent of a student or students living with them.
If there are two or more household members (over 18) that are not students, there is no exemption.
If the student is the sole owner or tenant, they will remain liable for the bill but also may be able to get a reduction if someone who is not a student is living with them.
Who qualifies for a discount
Unlike full-time students, part-time students have to pay Council Tax.
There is a 25% reduction on the bill if one part-time student is sharing with one or more full-time students. The part-time student is then responsible for the remaining 75% of the bill.
Full-time students do not count toward Council Tax – they're ignored with counting adults in a household. For example, a single parent living with adult full-time student children still get 25% discount.
If you own a home in Luton that's empty while you're away studying
You may be able to get money off your bill.
You will firstly need to report a change of address.
Once you have reported the change of address, you can apply for a empty home discount.
To qualify for this exemption:
- the property must have been your place of residence prior to moving elsewhere to study and
- you must have been a student whilst living there or
- become a student within six weeks of leaving the property
If the home is somewhere else then apply to that council.
What you'll need to provide
You'll need to provide:
- full name of each resident
- full address and post code
- student ID number of each student
- date each resident moved in
- date the tenancy started
- details of the university attended
If you’re a foreign full-time student with a partner or dependant who is not a British citizen and is not allowed to work or claim benefits you will not have to pay Council Tax while you’re studying.
You’ll have to submit a copy of your partner's passport along with the other student details that we need for you.
Apply for a discount or exemption
After you've applied
You must still pay the amount on your Council Tax bill until you hear from us.
If you qualify for the discount, we’ll check every year that you're still entitled to it.
Backdating your discount
We usually will not backdate a discount because it is almost impossible to verify. We might consider it if you provide strong evidence and our internal checks support the claim.
If your circumstances change
Use our enquiry form to:
- tell us if your circumstances change in the meantime as this may affect your discount
- cancel your discount