Single person
Single person example one
Albert receives Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance of £74.35 per week as his only source of income. He owns his home and lives by himself for which he gets a 25% discount. His Council Tax liability is in Band B and after the discount is £1,128.58 for the year.
- Under the current scheme Albert receives £1,128.58 for the year and has to pay nothing towards his Council Tax bill
- Under the Proposed Scheme Albert will receive £1,015.72 for the year and has to pay £112.86 towards his Council Tax bill over 10 or 12 instalments
Single person example two
Bob receives Universal Credit of £859.88 per calendar month. Of this £449.99 is for his rent (housing element) and the remaining £409.89 is to live on. He lives by himself for which he gets a 25% discount. His Council Tax liability is in Band B and after the discount is £1,128.58 for the year.
- Under the current scheme Bob receives £1,128.58 for the year and has nothing to pay towards his Council Tax bill. The money he receives for his rent is not counted in the calculation
- Under the proposed scheme Bob will receive £1,015.72 for the year and has to pay £112.86 towards his Council Tax bill over 10 or 12 instalments. The money he receives for his rent is not counted in the calculation
Single person example three
Clare lives alone in her own house and is self-employed. She earns £120 per week working 20 hours. Her house is in Council Tax Band C and, after her 25% discount for living alone, her Council Tax liability for the year is £1,289.81.
- Under the current scheme Clare receives £865.89 towards her Council Tax bill and has to pay the remaining £423.92 over 10 or 12 instalments. £5 per week of her earnings are not counted in the calculation
- Under the proposed scheme Clare receives £644.91 towards her Council Tax bill and has to pay the remaining £644.90 over 10 or 12 instalments. £5 per week of her earnings are not counted in the calculation
Couple
Couple example one
Debbie and Edward own their own Band D house. The Council Tax liability for the year is £1,934.71. They both work earning a combined amount of £225 per week for their 30+ hours. They have no other source of income.
- Under the current scheme they receive £1,088.95 towards their Council Bill for the year. They must pay the remaining amount of £845.76 over 10 or 12 months. A basic £10 per week of their earnings and an additional £17.10 per week of their earnings are not counted in the calculation
- Under the proposed scheme they receive £967.36 towards their Council Tax bill. They must pay the remaining amount of £967.35 over 10 or 12 months. A basic £10 per week of their earnings and an additional £17.10 per week of their earnings are not counted in the calculation.
Couple example two
Florence and Greg rent their property from a Housing Association and they receive Universal Credit of £981.71 per calendar month, of which £450.67 is for their rent, along with wages from Florence’s part time job of £100 per week for 16 hours. The property is in a band B for Council Tax with an annual liability of £1,504.77.
- Under the current scheme they receive £717.81 towards their Council Tax bill. They must pay the remaining £786.96 over 10 or 12 instalments. £10 per week of the earnings and the full amount for their rent are not included in the calculation
- Under the proposed scheme they receive £451.43 towards their Council Tax bill with the remaining £1,053.34 to be paid in 10 or 12 instalments. £10 per week of the earnings and the full amount for their rent are not included in the calculation
Couple example three
Harry and Imogen own their Band E property with an annual Council Tax liability of £2,364.65. Harry works 40 hours per week and earns £1,300 per calendar month. Imogen does not work but has savings of £5,000.
- Under the current scheme they receive £736.75 towards their Council Tax bill with the remaining £1,627.90 to be paid over 10 or 12 instalments. An earnings disregard of £117.43 per calendar month from the earnings is not included in the calculation
- Under the proposed scheme they receive £236.47 towards their Council Tax bill with the remaining £2,128.18 to be paid over 10 or 12 instalments. An earnings disregard of £117.43 per calendar month is not included in the calculation. However Notional Income of £8.00 from the £5,000 capital is included
Lone Parent
Lone parent example one
Joanne lives by herself in a Band A Council Tax property with her two children. She receives Income Support of £74.35 per week, Child Benefit of £35.00 per week and Child Tax Credit of £108.00 per week. The annual liability for a Band A property, after a discount for being the only adult is applied, is £967.36.
- Under the current scheme Joanne receives £967.36 towards her Council Tax bill and so has nothing to pay. Income Support awards her the maximum amount available regardless of her other income
- Under the proposed scheme Joanne receives £870.62 towards her Council Tax bill leaving the remaining £96.74 to be paid over 10 or 12 instalments. Income Support places Joanne in the highest percentage award band and all other income received is ignored
Lone parent example two
Kirsty lives by herself in a privately rented property with her 10 year old son. Her Council Tax band is a band C valued at £1,289.81 after a discount for being the only adult is applied. She receives Universal Credit of £1,245.71 per calendar month of which £599.99 is for her rent (housing element).
- Under the current scheme Kirsty receives £1,289.81 towards her Council Tax bill and so has nothing to pay. The housing element is not included in the calculation
- Under the proposed scheme Kirsty receives £1,160.83 towards her Council Tax bill and has to pay the remaining £128.98 over 10 or 12 instalments. The housing element is not included in the calculation.
Lone parent example three
Liam lives by himself in his own house with his daughter. Liam is self-employed and works 24 hours per week earning £150. He also receives Child Benefit of £21.05 per week, Child Tax Credits of £60.00 per week and Working Tax Credit of £45.00 per week. His ex-wife pays Child Maintenance of £50.00 per week. Liam’s Council Tax liability after discount is £2,095.94. It is a band F property.
- Under the current scheme Liam receives £1,363.02 towards his Council Tax bill. The remaining £732.92 must be paid over 10 or 12 instalments. In the calculation, a total earnings disregard of £42.10 is taken from his self-employed earnings. Also Child Benefit and Child Maintenance are ignored in full
- Under the proposed scheme: Liam receives £886.74 towards his Council Tax bill. The remaining £1,209.20 remains to be paid over 10 or 12 instalments. In the calculation, the maximum liability for a property that can be considered is a Band E. A total earnings disregard of £42.10 is taken from his self-employed earnings. Child Benefit and Child Maintenance are ignored in full
Couple with Children
Couple with children example one
Mike and Naomi have one child. They own their Council Tax band C house with an annual liability of £1,719.74. Mike earns £170 per week. They also receive Child Benefit of £21.05 per week & Child Tax Credit of £61.00 per week.
- Under the current scheme they receive £1,345.04 towards their Council Tax bill leaving £374.70 to pay over 10 or 12 instalments. In the calculation, Child Benefit is ignored in full and £10.00 of the earnings is also ignored
- Under the proposed scheme they receive £1,203.82 towards their Council Tax bill leaving £515.92 to pay over 10 or 12 instalments. In the calculation, Child Benefit is ignored in full and £10.00 of the earnings is also ignored.
Couple with children example two
Oscar & Penny have three children. They rent privately and claim Universal Credit but they only receive the child element for two of their three children. Oscar works and earns £400 per calendar month. Their Universal Credit award is £1,793.07 which includes a housing element of £749.99 per calendar month. Their annual Council Tax for their band D property is £1,934.71.
- Under the current scheme they receive £1,920.01 towards their Council Tax bill leaving £14.70 to pay over 10 or 12 instalments. In the calculation, Dependant Allowances for three children have been granted and £43.33 per calendar month of the earnings is also ignored. The housing element is also ignored in full
- Under the proposed scheme they receive £580.41 towards their Council Tax bill leaving £1,354.30 to pay over 10 or 12 instalments. The housing element has been ignored in full and £43.33 per calendar month of the earnings is also ignored
Couple with children example three
Quentin and Rebecca have two children. They own their Council Tax Band A property and also receive Universal Credit. Neither Quentin nor Rebecca is currently working. Their annual Council Tax liability is £1,289.81. Their Universal Credit award is £1,043.12, which is the maximum award they can receive less a £68 advance recovery deduction.
- Under the current scheme they receive £1,289.81 towards their Council Tax bill leaving nothing for them to pay. In the calculation, advance recovery counts as money received
- Under the proposed scheme they receive £644.91 towards their Council Tax bill leaving £644.90 remaining to be paid in 10 or 12 instalments. In the calculation, advance recovery counts as money received