Council tax rebate for military - does this really exist?

Veryskint

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post.

I wonder if anyone can advise.

DH is about to deploy for 6m+ and according to the deployment packs I have received we ought to receive a rebate on our council tax.

I am advised by our welfare office that this comes from the council not the MOD.

I am advised by the council that each council had to decide whether or not to offer these rebates, ours decided not to.:(

So despite the amount of space given up to Gordon Brown saying "hooray for me, aren't I nice to the armed forces!" I think we will still get nothing in real life.

Any advice gratefully received.

McKneff

Presumably the council did not not give you a rebate because the council tax is actually payable.

What did the deployment pack actually say.

lincroft1710

The Directgov site does not seem to acknowledge that this exemption exists.

Veryskint

The pack says that we will get a council tax rebate (set sum of £140) and to contact the regt for details. This I did and they referred me to my local council tax office, as we do not live on camp but in our own home.
The council advised that the rebate is discretionary, a decision to be made by each council as to whether they grant it or not. My council decided not to grant it.
I wrote to my MP as I was getting pretty ticked off with this, it is not an enormous sum, but £140 is £140. I got a quick reply from his office, with a really clear document that advises what the rebate is and where it comes from. Success!!
This is not actually a council tax rebate, but is a sum to be granted by the MOD in recognition of the fact that you are paying full council tax when really it is just wife and kids in the house for 6 months (if hubby left me or went to prison we would get a council tax rebate, if he goes to Afghanistan we don't).
It is a set sum and is to be given by the MOD not the council.
So now I have these details I have passed them onto my welfare office and am waiting to see what the response is.
The documentation is from the House of Commons and quotes MOD sources, so I don't anticipate any problems, but with the Army, you never know!!

Happy to share the document in PM to anyone else having problems with the same issue.

Veryskint

In case anyone else needs to refer to this, it is not actually limited to 6m tours, the exact wording is

Troops who pay Council Tax for a property in the UK or Contributions in Lieu of Council Tax for Service Family Accommodation will receive financial support through a relief payment, based on the number of days in theatre, and worth some £140 over a six-month tour. The extension of the scheme will be effective from 1 April 2008, with payments backdated to 1 February 2008.

stace_edinburgh

Hi there,

I have recently heard about this and as my partner is in Afghanistan for 6 months i contacted my council. I have received a letter from them today to say"for our purposes he is deemed temporarily adsent and this is stil his "sole or main residence" to which he will return when his deployment abroad ends. As such, there is no provision within the legislation to apply any discount while someone is temporarily adsent abroad for work or other reasons."

Where do you go from here is there someone else that you have to contact regarding this if this is the reply from the council!?

Thanks for your help!

wgb37

We were told roughly the same thing. Although not serving on operations overseas I'm serving overseas with my wife. We were told by our council where our property is located in the UK that since it's our ONLY residence and we are in job related accommodation we get no discount on our council tax, so whilst we are overseas and paying for a SFA/CILOCT we still get to pay full council tax on our property if we don't have tenants, which at the moment we don't as the last lot damage, thanks Leeds council!! The Directgov website leads you to believe that some discounts are available, but councils set their own precedence, how blooming annoying

PurplePantha

Hi everyone - this is my first time posting in a forum. My boyfriend is in the Army (UK Based) but does not live with me - he visits maybe 2 weekends a month and stays with me when he takes longer leave i.e a week in Easter or the Summer.

He lives in Barracks and has said he pays council tax down there however, we plan to buy my housing association flat and to do so jointly he has to be a 'tenant' for 6 months so my landlord has added him to the tenancy agreement and advised me to put him on the voters roll (electoral register) so when it comes to buying we can do it together.

I currently receive a single persons discount on my council tax and given that he isn't actually living in the house with me on a regular basis and is paying council tax towards his barracks - am I breaking the law? There just doesn't seem to be any properly defined answers to this? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated?

CIS

I currently receive a single persons discount on my council tax and given that he isn't actually living in the house with me on a regular basis and is paying council tax towards his barracks - am I breaking the law? There just doesn't seem to be any properly defined answers to this? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated?

From what you have said, your property is not your 'sole or main residence' therefore he does not prevent you from claiming your 25% discount however you may have issues further down the line trying to prove he wasn't resident . (The council will review discounts using the voters list and credit checks for information as to who is resident).