Claim Council Tax Reduction
To make your Council Tax Reduction claim, you will need:
your name, address and contact details
the full names and dates of birth of everyone who lives with you, and what their relationship is to you
your National Insurance number
the amount of rent you pay, including a breakdown of any service charges
the name and address of your landlord
the date you moved in to your property
the account number and sort code of all your bank accounts
the amount of savings, capital and investments you have
the name of your employer
how much you earn
to tell us if you get any other benefits or tax credits, including what they are and how much you get
how much child maintenance you get, and how often you get it
to tell us if you get child care costs, how much you get, how often you get it and which child it's for
to tell us if you have any other income, and how much you get
If you live with your partner or have any non-dependents living with you, you will also need:
their name and contact details
their National Insurance number
the account number and sort code of all of their bank accounts
the amount of savings, capital and investments they have
the name of their employer
how much they earn
to tell us if they get any other benefits or tax credits, including what they are and how much they get
how much child maintenance they get, and how often they get it
to tell us if they get child care costs, how much they get, how often they get it and which child it's for
to tell us if they have any other income, and how much they get
You need to make your Council Tax Reduction claim as soon as possible. We can’t backdate Council Tax Reduction claims, so you will lose money if you don’t make your claim.
You may find it easier to complete the Council Tax Reduction claim form on a desktop computer (rather than on a smartphone or tablet).
If you don’t have access to the internet or a desktop computer, you can use self-service desktop computers at:
the Customer Service Centre, Civic Centre
Chelmsford Library
South Woodham Ferrers Library
You can download and view our policy about Council Tax Reduction for 2025-26.
This document is over 130 pages in length, and over 1 MB in size. You may find it easier to download and view this document on a desktop computer, rather than on a smartphone or tablet.
How we pay Council Tax Reduction
We apply your Council Tax Reduction to your Council Tax account. This means that your Council Tax bill will show the reduced amount that you have to pay.
Benefit fraud
You need to be honest when you make your Council Tax Reduction claim. If you’re dishonest, you will be committing benefit fraud.
You can find out about benefit fraud on GOV.UK.