Council tax on 'Second Home'

ThePurpleCat

Seeking any advice. Four years ago I moved to a different area for work, while my husband stayed in our purchased home in a different area. I now live in a rented flat. We pay full (2 adult) council tax in the area of our home and I pay full council tax in my flat. I don’t receive a single person discount as my flat is considered a second home. From April the area my flat is in will be doubling council tax on second homes and I’ll be forced to give up work, as I cannot afford this.

Stubod

..but it's not your 2nd home if it's rented surely  ?????

PRAISETHESUN

Which council are the homes in? Council tax is usually owed by the person(s) who lives at the property, rather than by who owns the property. If you live 100% at the rental property, and your husband lives 100% at the home you jointly own then I can't see why there would be an issue with you both claiming the single person discounts at your respective homes, and then you also avoid all the extra council tax issues for having a second home. I can understand why the council might be hesitant to believe a married couple doesn't live together, but I'm sure if you can provide evidence of your work arrangements that require you to live apart then they should be happy to accept it.

Bookworm105

PRAISETHESUN said:

Which council are the homes in? Council tax is usually owed by the person(s) who lives at the property, rather than by who owns the property. If you live 100% at the rental property, and your husband lives 100% at the home you jointly own then I can't see why there would be an issue with you both claiming the single person discounts at your respective homes, and then you also avoid all the extra council tax issues for having a second home. I can understand why the council might be hesitant to believe a married couple doesn't live together, but I'm sure if you can provide evidence of your work arrangements that require you to live apart then they should be happy to accept it.

whilst a married couple can claim to live apart for work reasons, some 15 years after this thread i rather suspect that each council will now apply the rules a lot more stringently than they used to if they follow your advice and each try to claim SPD 
Council Tax for couple with two homes who work apart — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Sole or main residence | Who must pay council tax | Thurrock Council

OP openly admits that without the job they would return to the marital (ie main) home, so de facto the rental is a second home 

AskAsk

this is why the laws in this country needs to be changed.  you end up paying more tax if you are married.  for people who choose to cohabit without getting married, you save yourself a whole lot of tax!

it's a penalty for getting married and then they say the number of marriages are falling all the time, I wonder why???

Keep_pedalling

AskAsk said:

this is why the laws in this country needs to be changed.  you end up paying more tax if you are married.  for people who choose to cohabit without getting married, you save yourself a whole lot of tax!

it's a penalty for getting married and then they say the number of marriages are falling all the time, I wonder why???

Try telling that to a surviving unmarried partner who has to sell their home to pay an IHT bill.

lincroft1710

AskAsk said:

this is why the laws in this country needs to be changed.  you end up paying more tax if you are married.  for people who choose to cohabit without getting married, you save yourself a whole lot of tax!

it's a penalty for getting married and then they say the number of marriages are falling all the time, I wonder why???

For council tax purposes people who live as a married couple but are not actually married are treated as if they were married.

PRAISETHESUN

Bookworm105 said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

Which council are the homes in? Council tax is usually owed by the person(s) who lives at the property, rather than by who owns the property. If you live 100% at the rental property, and your husband lives 100% at the home you jointly own then I can't see why there would be an issue with you both claiming the single person discounts at your respective homes, and then you also avoid all the extra council tax issues for having a second home. I can understand why the council might be hesitant to believe a married couple doesn't live together, but I'm sure if you can provide evidence of your work arrangements that require you to live apart then they should be happy to accept it.

whilst a married couple can claim to live apart for work reasons, some 15 years after this thread i rather suspect that each council will now apply the rules a lot more stringently than they used to if they follow your advice and each try to claim SPD 
Council Tax for couple with two homes who work apart — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Sole or main residence | Who must pay council tax | Thurrock Council

OP openly admits that without the job they would return to the marital (ie main) home, so de facto the rental is a second home 

Fair enough, happy to be corrected. Doesn't help OP though