Council Tax discounts for military or diplomatic persons

Discounts and exemptions may be available to military or diplomatic personnel.

Council Tax assumes that two adults live in your home. If only one adult lives in a property a discount of 25% will be given.

In some cases, even if there are two or more people aged 18 or over living in a property, a discount of up to 50% may still be given. This is because certain people are not counted when deciding how many adults live in the property. If two adults live in a property and one is not counted a 25% discount will be given. If all the adults are not counted a discount of 50% will be given. When someone is not counted this means that they are 'disregarded' for Council Tax discount purposes.

The following disregard discount is available to military or diplomatic personnel.

A member (or dependant) of international headquarters and defence organisations

If you are a member (or dependant) of international headquarters and defence organisations you may be entitled to a discount from your Council.

If you think you may qualify for this discount, please submit a general enquiry form.

Other military or diplomatic reductions include the following exemptions

Servicing armed forces personnel living in a property owned by the Ministry of Defence

This exemption applies to domestic properties owned by the Secretary of State, which are kept to provide living accommodation for UK armed forces.

This applies whether the property is occupied or not.

If you think this exemption may apply, please contact us.

Visiting forces accommodation

This exemption applies to both members of the visiting armed forces and their dependents.

A person is disregarded for Council Tax if they have a relevant association with a visiting armed force.

A person with a relevant association is one who is:

1. a member of that force, or a civilian component of that force,

2. a dependent of a member, provided that the dependent is not a British citizen, or is not normally resident in the UK.

If any of the persons liable to pay Council Tax qualifies as one of the above, the property will be exempt from Council Tax.

If you think this exemption may apply, please contact us.

Foreign Diplomats and certain members of their household

A reduction may apply to properties that are the main residence of persons with diplomatic privileges and immunities. If you think this exemption may apply, please contact us.

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Last updated: 20 June 2023 13:20:43

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