Apply for Council Tax: detention discount or exemption

If a person in your home has been detained in prison, a hospital, an immigration centre, or by the military, you may be able to claim a reduction in your Council Tax bill.

Eligibility

The amount of Council Tax payable will depend on the number of people who remain at your property during the detention.

• If the property is empty during the detention, an exemption will apply, and there will be no Council Tax to pay.
• If one person remains at the property, there will be a 25% discount. 
• If there are two or more adults remaining at the property, the full Council Tax charge will apply. In these circumstances, you may be eligible for Council Tax Support or other benefits. 

Before you apply

To apply for a detention discount or exemption, you will need:

• to register for Council Tax in Bath and North East Somerset
• to have your Council Tax account number. This is a seven or nine digit number, and you can find it in the top left hand corner of your Council Tax bill. If you are unsure, please view this example bill.
• to know how many people are now resident at the property 
• the name and address of the place where the person is detained
• the date of detention
• the expected date of release
• the person's prison number (if applicable)

Next steps

• When we receive your application, we will verify your information and issue you with a new Council Tax bill. You should receive this within 28 days.
• We will check every year that you are still entitled to the discount or exemption. You may receive a letter, asking you to confirm this.

Your responsibilities

• After you have applied for a discount or exemption, you must still pay the amount on your current Council Tax bill, until we issue a new bill.
• If you disagree with the amount of Council Tax we ask you to pay after the discount or exemption is applied, you can use our online form to contact us.
• You must respond promptly to any letters you receive from us about your discount. We may cancel your discount if you do not reply when we contact you.
• You must inform us immediately if your circumstances change (for example, the person in detention is released).

Cancelling your detention discount or exemption

If the person in detention is released, you may no longer be eligible for a discount or exemption. You must tell us immediately about any change. If you do not inform us, this might increase your bill.

If your circumstances change in other ways, you may be eligible for a different Council Tax discount or exemption. Find out more about other benefits by following the links in the panel: More on Council Tax, Other benefits and For families of detainees.