Changes to Council Tax Reduction
Changes from 1 April 2026
Buckinghamshire Council are introducing a new income banded Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme for working age applicants.
The aim of the new scheme is to make the amount of support customers receive more stable month-to-month. The scheme also offers those on the lowest incomes up to 100% discount on their council tax bill.
You may get a discount of:
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
This depends on who's in your household and which band your income falls into.
If you're pension age, you will continue to be assessed under the national Council Tax Reduction Prescribed Scheme and can receive up to 100%.
Who can apply
You can apply if you:
are liable to pay Council Tax
are on a low income
have capital below £6,000 for working age claims
have capital below £16,000 for pension age claims (or are in receipt of Pension Guarantee Credit)
How to apply
Apply online by completing the application form.
The Overall Benefit Cap
The government has also brought in new measures to cap the total benefit a household can receive. This means that a couple/single parent can no longer receive more than £422.31 per week in total from Universal Credit, Child Tax Credits, Housing Benefit, JSA/ESA/Income Support, Carer’s Allowance, and some other benefits. A single person can only be in receipt of £296.35 per week from the same benefits.
Claimants receiving PIP/Disability Living Allowance, Working Tax Credits, Attendance Allowance or the support component of Employment and Support Allowance will not be subject to the cap.
If a household exceeds the amount of benefit the government has set out they can receive, a deduction will be taken from their Housing Benefit, to bring them under the weekly limit.
Please visit https://www.gov.uk/benefit-cap for further details.
Click here to download an information leaflet.
Debt and Money Advice - Advice and help to manage your money and some useful links
Here are some useful websites to visit:
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
www.stepchange.org
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
www.payplan.com
www.adviceguide.org.uk/england
www.shelter.org.uk