Are my parents able to claim back council tax due to being carers

Anthony222

Hi 
My parents have been looking after my disablied brother at home for the past 14 months, the home he was in was closed by CQC. They have been paying the full amount of Council Tax during this time, my mother had also been diagnosed with incurable cancer and is undergoing treatment. I feel that they can claim back CT but am unsure and don't know how far back it can go to.
My mother is in receipt of carers allowance.
Is anyone able to clarify or send any information to claim, they live within richmond upon thames borough 
Thank you

macman

If your brother counts as SMI then he would be disregarded for Council Tax purposes, but that still wouldn't qualify them for the SPD, as there are still at least two adults living in the property.
Your mother should qualify for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance if she is terminally ill.
Council Tax Discount is a means tested benefit, and we have no idea of her income as to whether she would qualify for that.

Anthony222

She currently works less than 16 hours per week, my father is currently out of work but not yet claiming benefits 

Anthony222

macman said:

If your brother counts as SMI then he would be disregarded for Council Tax purposes, but that still wouldn't qualify them for the SPD, as there are still at least two adults living in the property.
Your mother should qualify for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance if she is terminally ill.
Council Tax Discount is a means tested benefit, and we have no idea of her income as to whether she would qualify for that.

Hi thanks for the comment, didn't think about attendance allowance 

harpee

If your brother is smi he will be disregarded. If he is over 18 and one or both parents cares for him for 35hrs+ per week they may also be disregarded as a carer. He needs to be entitled to a qualifying benefit for these disregards (carers allowance is not a qualifying benefit for either smi or carer disregard). If 2/3 adults are disregarded the discount is 25%. If all 3 are disregarded the discount is 50%. Search on their councils website for carer disregard and smi disregard. There is nothing in law that would prevent a local authority backdating a disregard discount 14 months.
If the property has at least one of certain features required by a disabled resident they my also qualify for disabled band reduction through the council (uses a wheelchair indoors, second bathroom or kitchen, or a room needed to meet their needs). This is a discount equivalent to a band reduction.

harpee

Also they may be entitled to council tax reduction aka council tax support which is a means tested reduction to the bill. Each local authority has its own scheme for this which will be on their website. This can be given in addition to the statutory discounts mentioned previously.

macman

Anthony222 said:

She currently works less than 16 hours per week, my father is currently out of work but not yet claiming benefits 

It is the income and savings that are relevant, not the no. of hours worked, for means tested benefits. Is your brother an adult, and is he SMI, or physically disabled?
I'd urge them do the AA application immediately, it will be fast tracked with a terminal diagnosis, and backdated to the date of application. This benefit is not means tested, it's purely based on need.