Just been told to pay Council Tax?

talksoccer

Hey all,

I am at college and work at Tescos(13.5 Hours a week) and have been told i have to pay Council tax out of the blue. I have 6k saved in my accounts as i am hoping to get a car with that but is there anyway around this? What can i do to solve this problem?

I am only 18 years old and at college with a part time job.

sfboy

Council tax is tax for houses, do you own/rent a house?

wallace_3

If you are a full time student and live alone, or with other students, you do not pay council tax. If there are 4 students and 1 full time worker living in a house, then you will have to pay council tax.

I'm not 100% certain, but I think part-time students do not qualify for council tax exemption. With less than £8k savings, you can apply for income support benefit.

sleepy

Only full time students don't pay council tax.AND you have to be studying an officially recognised course at a recognised university. If all this applies you then have toget a student certificate and send it to the c/tax people before they can apply the exemption.

eml_3

If there is a non-student in the house, then it is them who is liable for the council tax, not the Full Time students. The law changed in April 2004.

halcyon_drift

also worth noting, if you are not exempt, yet there is another student in the flat, the other student only has to pay a reduced rate. not really an answer to the OP, but potentially relevant.

Hal

talksoccer

I live at home with my parents i am only at college, should i ask college to make me a letter asking them i am a student?

sleepy

If both your parents live with you and pay c/tax (or if there are any 2 c/taxpaying adults in the property) you don't really count towards c/tax. The charge for c/tax is the same for 2 or more people in a property.
If your parents claim c/tax benefits (a whole different system to just the c/tax) and their benefit has been reajusted because you have become 18/started work,they would need to fill out reassesment forms giving details of your income and the fact that you are a student.
I work for my local council tax department so if you have any specific questions you want to ask (with more details you may not want made public) feel free to pm me (that goes for anyone!).

ka7e

I can only assume that your parents don't pay Council Tax for some reason (in reciept of some benefits?). If you are still in full-time education and on an approved course (the part-time job is irrelevant), you need to contact your local council for an exemption form. You get your College to certify you are attending full-time and the form is returned to the Council.
The Council will ask what sort of course you attend and for how many hours per week to check you are exempt from Council Tax.


Sorry Sleepy - cross-posting. I bow to your greater expertise in the area!

MUHAMID

sleepy wrote:

If both your parents live with you and pay c/tax (or if there are any 2 c/taxpaying adults in the property) you don't really count towards c/tax. The charge for c/tax is the same for 2 or more people in a property.
If your parents claim c/tax benefits (a whole different system to just the c/tax) and their benefit has been reajusted because you have become 18/started work,they would need to fill out reassesment forms giving details of your income and the fact that you are a student.
I work for my local council tax department so if you have any specific questions you want to ask (with more details you may not want made public) feel free to pm me (that goes for anyone!).

i m an international student.i live in my own house.The house is on me and my dad's name.i finish my college in july.den i hve holidays now.i work part time at the moment.my course ll start in next feb.so can i apply for exemption in c/tax?
also can i apply for my refund of last year?
i am bit confused.........

kittiwoz

The situation currently is this:

If you are a full time student you are exempt from council tax. Get an exemption certificate from uni and send it to the council.

If you are not a student but everyone else in your house is then you automatically qualify for a single persons discount of 25%. However this may well still leave you with a bill for the year equivalent to two or three months rent!

But you can apply for council tax benefit by ringing the council and asking them to send you a benefit request form. The number for this is on the bill they send you. Obviously you'll still be being taxed on an asset that belongs to your landlord who lives in a million pound house while you sit shivering in a wooly hat and fingerless gloves because you can't afford to heat the house but it will make it a little less extortionate.

If they are demanding payment last week and you can't afford to pay and they haven't send the benefit request form despite promising to put it straight in the post last time you rang them don't panic: They won't send the baliffs round for months yet and not without notice. Remember too you don't have to let them in, just make sure all doors and windows are locked! Keep ringing up and demanding the benefit form and don't pay them a penny til you get it.