Can you be added to a council tax bill?

Troy_af
Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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in UK armed forces MoneySaving
Currently looking to buy a place of my own and until then, I stay at my parents when I'm home on weekends, leave periods etc.



The forces offer a 'get you home' travel allowance, but to be eligible you have to provide proof of 'financial commitment' to the qualifying residence. One of the requirements is to provide a council tax bill. I currently do not pay any council tax.


My question is, can I be added to a council tax bill whilst staying at my parents place? I'd be happy to pay some council tax, as doing so this would entitle me to the allowance.
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Comments

  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,279 Forumite
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    Good way to see how a court martial is conducted from the wrong side. Fraudulently claiming allowances
  • Troy_af
    Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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    unforeseen wrote: »
    Good way to see how a court martial is conducted from the wrong side. Fraudulently claiming allowances


    What is fraudulent? You are entitled to the allowance if you are classed as financially maintaining a property. Paying council tax puts you under the category of financially maintaining a property.


    My question is can I be added to a council tax bill? How is it fraudulent to apply for an allowance that I'm entitled to?
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,279 Forumite
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    edited 23 November 2018 at 8:29AM
    You are not entitled to it though. That is the point. It is not what you appear to think it is. It is for people who have a house or family away from where they are based. For GYH family is spouse/partner and possibly children, not your parents.


    One person is normally named on a CT bill taken from the following list. Highest on the list wins
    The hierarchy of liability is:

    a resident who lives in the property and who owns the freehold
    a resident who lives in the property and who has a lease
    a resident tenant
    a resident who lives in the property and who is a licensee. This means that they are not a tenant, but have permission to stay there
    any resident living in the property, for example, a squatter
    an owner of the property who does not live there.

    Which one would you be?

    You also need one of the following. Do you have that?
    Group Two (either one, mandatory)
    - Mortgage documents, or Land Registry documents, or Ground Rent.
    - Tenancy Agreement, including full details of the property.
    - Utility bill (gas, electric, water, telephone but not mobile phone) (to be dated within the last 4 months)
    - Buildings and/or contents insurance (for the current year)

    Have a proper read of JSP752 chapter 5
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
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    My question is, can I be added to a council tax bill whilst staying at my parents place? I'd be happy to pay some council tax, as doing so this would entitle me to the allowance.
    Unless you are a joint resident owner or joint resident tenant then you would not be shown as jointly liable for the council tax charge (as many people can be liable as required but you would not be).
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • Troy_af
    Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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    unforeseen wrote: »
    You are not entitled to it though. That is the point. It is not what you appear to think it is. It is for people who have a house or family away from where they are based. For GYH family is spouse/partner and possibly children, not your parents.


    Ive read the JSP. The allowance is not strictly for people who have a family or own a house, I know an 18 year old who claims the allowance and he certainly is not financially responsible for anything. It states:

    "The aim of Get You Home Travel (GYH(T)) is to reduce the impact of separation on Service personnel (SP) in order to improve retention whilst also supporting the mobile nature of the Services. It achieves this by contributing towards the cost of travel from the Duty Station to a Qualifying Residence (QRes) when both are within the same country, and the SP carries out such travel."

    The only issue for me is, does my parents home count as a qualifying residence if I were paying council tax? If so, it looks to me that I'm entitled. Which is why my original question was can you be added to a council tax bill. I'm not trying to commit any fraud, if they pay me an allowance that I'm not entitled to, that's their mistake.


    cheers.
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
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    The only issue for me is, does my parents home count as a qualifying residence if I were paying council tax? If so, it looks to me that I'm entitled. Which is why my original question was can you be added to a council tax bill. I'm not trying to commit any fraud, if they pay me an allowance that I'm not entitled to, that's their mistake.



    You wouldn't be paying council tax on it as you are not liable. A council tax demand notice is only required to show those who are liable for the council tax.
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • Troy_af
    Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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    thanks for the help
  • Andy_L
    Andy_L Posts: 12,786 Forumite
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    Assuming that you are single & don't have kids then your "family home" which is where you can claim for travel to is classed as either

    "A property that is either owned/part owned/rented/part rented where
    the Service person normally resides at weekends and/or periods of leave; or [your SLA accommodation]"

    To claim you need the CT bill and mortgage/tenancy agreement/utility bills so just having your name on the CT bill isn't enough

    The 18 year old may be in receipt of GYH "early years" and nobody's realised it should have stopped on his 18th Birthday (or he's still in Ph1 training)
  • Troy_af
    Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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    Ok cheers. Guess I better hurry up and buy a house then haha
  • cheeky-peach
    cheeky-peach Posts: 327 Forumite
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    I worked with a girl who, at 18 lived with her parents still. She was told that she just needed a letter from her parents with a copy of their council tax bill saying she was living there and she was able to claim "Home to Duty". I appreciate this isn't the same as GYH but it may be something useful to you.
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