rent a room scheme and the single person council tax discount

iainscomputer

InsertWittyName wrote: »

If it makes you feel any better, my old property is empty and has been for quite some time. I pay 100% Council Tax on this property! If I had one person living there it would cost less...

Just how much Council resource does an empty property take?!

A empty property should only be charged 50% council tax, you should ask for this discount, they won't give it you without you asking for it.

katejo

le_loup wrote: »

...... erm, one of them will be hungry then!

I don't know what you mean by this. The overall living costs (food, fuel, council tax etc) for 2 people sharing are not twice as much as the costs for a single person.

HappyMJ

katejo wrote: »

I don't know what you mean by this. The overall living costs (food, fuel, council tax etc) for 2 people sharing are not twice as much as the costs for a single person.

Food costs almost twice as much. Taking just one product milk 49p for 1 pint and 89p for two pints. It's 80% more expensive for two people. Fuel as in gas and electric is about 70% more expensive. It costs almost twice as much to heat enough water for two people to have a wash rather than one. I can get away with £40 a month in gas/electric bills for myself. Whenever I've had 2 people stay here it's almost £70 a month so the 70% more expensive figure. Council tax is one of the cheaper ones at 33% more expensive.

Badger_Lady

I pay council tax on both my main residence and my weekday residence, because the weekday residence is a shared property and the overal council tax liability does not reduce if I decide not to pay... therefore it's only fair for me to make an equal contribution to the total.

I'm also a single person renting rooms to lodgers. I could choose to charge them an additional amount for council tax to cover the 25%. Or I could choose to opt out of the rent-a-room scheme and instead complete a normal income tax return with all expenses deducted. There's no point whatsoever in comparing myself with a couple and whining "it's not fai-air!" - one could spend all day doing that.

katejo

HappyMJ wrote: »

Food costs almost twice as much. Taking just one product milk 49p for 1 pint and 89p for two pints. It's 80% more expensive for two people. Fuel as in gas and electric is about 70% more expensive. It costs almost twice as much to heat enough water for two people to have a wash rather than one. I can get away with £40 a month in gas/electric bills for myself. Whenever I've had 2 people stay here it's almost £70 a month so the 70% more expensive figure. Council tax is one of the cheaper ones at 33% more expensive.

But think of all the "two for one" or "buy one and get one free" offers which two people together can get. If they are for perishable goods, they are no good for a single person. There is more food wastage for single people who buy larger amounts because the smaller containers are proportionally more expensive. 30p here and 20p there can really add up and make a difference.

It doesn't cost twice as much to heat the house for two than for one.

le_loup

katejo wrote: »

But think of all the "two for one" or "buy one and get one free" offers which two people together can get.

You don't have a freezer then?

katejo

Badger_Lady wrote: »

I pay council tax on both my main residence and my weekday residence, because the weekday residence is a shared property and the overal council tax liability does not reduce if I decide not to pay... therefore it's only fair for me to make an equal contribution to the total.

I'm also a single person renting rooms to lodgers. I could choose to charge them an additional amount for council tax to cover the 25%. Or I could choose to opt out of the rent-a-room scheme and instead complete a normal income tax return with all expenses deducted. There's no point whatsoever in comparing myself with a couple and whining "it's not fai-air!" - one could spend all day doing that.

I am not objecting to the extra council tax in principle. I do charge my lodger an extra bit to cover this. I have always understood however that this extra rent (to cover council tax) will be included in the £4250 that we are allowed to take before paying tax. Do you deal with council tax separately and NOT include it in the £4250. Do you split fuel bills with your lodgers and not include that in the £4250? I cannot find anything to say that this would be allowed.
I feel really uncomfortable about filling a tax return simply because I am not sure what you can claim as expenses. 50% of fuel costs or 25% as it probably does not cost twice as much to heat the house for 2?
I would really like to know how you do this.

katejo

le_loup wrote: »

You don't have a freezer then?

Not much good for bags of satsumas!

HappyMJ

katejo wrote: »

But think of all the "two for one" or "buy one and get one free" offers which two people together can get. If they are for perishable goods, they are no good for a single person. There is more food wastage for single people who buy larger amounts because the smaller containers are proportionally more expensive. 30p here and 20p there can really add up and make a difference.

It doesn't cost twice as much to heat the house for two than for one.

Yes I'm single and take advantage of those offers. I always say on the debt free posts £20 a week for 1 person then add £15 for the second person. It's almost double. I could not feed 2 people for £20 a week.

It costs almost twice as much to heat my house for two people. I like my house on the cool side. Cooler than anyone else. 18 and I am warm. Whenever I've had people stay here the costs have jumped by 70% and that's partly because the secondary units are cheaper than the primary units. The heating is also on longer and higher.

HappyMJ

katejo wrote: »

Not much good for bags of satsumas!

Satsumas can be bought individually. The cost is almost the same as those in a bag.