Council Tax for students

If all the residents in the property are students you can apply for a 100% exemption (PDF, 201 KB)

If all but one residents in the property are students you can apply for a 25% discount (PDF, 199 KB)

If you are a full-time student and share a property with one or more people who are not full-time students, they will need to pay the full Council Tax bill.

Eligibility criteria

A student for Council Tax purposes is one of the following: 

• a Foreign Language Assistant registered with the British Council
• a person taking a full-time course of education at a prescribed educational establishment in the UK. This includes universities on the ERASMUS programme within the European Union. A full-time course lasts for at least one academic or calendar year. They have periods of study, tuition or work experience for at least 21 hours per week on average over at least 24 weeks. Examples of this type of course are undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
• a person aged under 20 years and taking a qualifying course of education. A qualifying course of education is usually studied between the hours of 8am and 5.30pm. The course must last more than three months and be more than 12 hours per week (or more than one course that adds up to more than 12 hours). Examples of this type of course are A levels, NVQ Level 3, ONC or OND. 
• anyone aged 18 or 19 who has left school or college between 1 May and 31 October in any year. To qualify, the person must have stopped doing a qualifying course of education, for example A levels, between 1 May and 31 October. If awarded, this discount will last up to 31 October in any year.

The exemption extends to students' spouses or dependents who are not British citizens. The terms of their entry visa must prevent them from taking paid employment or from claiming benefit.

A correspondence course is not a qualifying course of education.

Applications can take up to 28 days to process. We will contact you if we need more information.

After you've applied you must still pay the amount on your Council Tax bill until you hear from us.

When you stop being classed as a full-time student

For Council Tax purposes you stop being classed as a full-time student when your course ends (as shown on the student certificate), the college closes, you drop out of the course, or you are dismissed from the course.

Summer months

If your course is for two or more years, you are still classed as a full-time student during the summer months, even if you work during the summer. However, if you are moving from one course to another, for example you have finished an HND course and you are moving onto a degree course, you are not classed as a full-time student for the time between the two courses. This is because you are not within the formal period of either course.

Halls of residence

Halls of residence are exempt from Council Tax as long as:

• the accommodation is owned or managed by an educational establishment (such as a college or university)
• the educational establishment nominates the majority of the student residents

The accommodation must be mainly for students. This does not prevent part of the accommodation being used for staff or other people.

Empty home while a student

If you own a home which you have to leave unoccupied while you study, that home may also be exempt from Council Tax for as long as you remain a student.