Second Adult Rebate

Who can claim Second Adult Rebate?

The rules for claiming Second Adult Rebate are different from those for claiming main Council Tax benefit. 
Second Adult Rebate is awarded when the person liable to pay the council tax has a second adult living in his or her home who is on Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or on a low income.
The level of  liable person's income and savings is not taken into account.

Who is a 'second adult'?

A 'second adult' is somebody over the age of 18 living in your household who is not paying rent,
for example:

•  adult son or daughter
•  a relative
•  or a friend 
•  or a certain type of carer

A 'second adult' is not:

•  a partner
•  a tenant/boarder 
•  a joint tenant

In addition, a 'second adult' cannot be a person normally ignored for Council Tax purposes for example:

• a person under the age of 18 or someone over 18  if Child Benefit is still being paid
•  a full time student
•  a person on a youth training scheme
•  an apprentice on a NCVQ/SVEC course
•  a person who is severely mentally impaired
•  certain types of carers
•  people in prison or other forms of detention
•  people who have been in hospital for more than 6 weeks
•  people actually or normally resident elsewhere
•  diplomats and members of International bodies or of visiting forces

This is because you still may be able to get a single person discount if the person living with you
falls into one of the above categories.

Contact the Council Tax section directly if you think you may be entitled to a single person discount.

You cannot claim a Second Adult Rebate if:

• you have a partner
•  the second adults living with you have a commercial liability to pay rent (ie they are
  your tenants or your joint tenants).

How much Second Adult Rebate can I get?

How much benefit you can get depends on the income and circumstances of the second adult or adults living with you.
You can only get one amount of Second Adult Rebate, regardless of how many there are living with you.

Second Adult Rebate is paid as a percentage deduction in your Council Tax bill. There are three bands:

1. The percentage of Council Tax met by Second Adult Rebate
   Second adult(s) in receipt of Income
   Support or Income Based Job Seekers
   Allowance
   25%
2. Gross income of second adult (s) less
   than £162
   15%
3. Gross income of second adult(s) £162 to
   £209.99
   7.5%