Council tax and care leavers
The council provides a local discount for its care leavers to reduce their council tax bills to zero until they reach their 25th birthday.
If you are a Birmingham care leaver, you still need to apply for any other reduction to which you are entitled such as
- student discount or exemption
- single resident discount
- council tax support (CTS)
but we will automatically award you a top-up discount so you have nothing more to pay until you reach your 25th birthday.
The discount does not apply if
- the bill is in someone else’s name (for instance a friend, relative or landlord) or
- you are a care leaver from outside Birmingham (you can ask the council that was responsible for your care to help you pay your bill)
but it does still apply if
- you are jointly liable for council tax with someone who is not a care leaver, or
- you would be named on the bill if you were not a student.
Sometimes we may not know straightaway that you have moved address, so if you get a bill and you think you should have had this discount, just let us know by emailing revenuesclientteam@birmingham.gov.uk.
This discount is only for amounts due for periods after 1 April 2017, so you will still need to pay any council tax you owe for an earlier period. Unless you have already done so, you will need to contact us to agree a payment arrangement.
If you are under 25 and have an outstanding council tax bill for a period after 1 April 2017, we will consider backdating this discount to the beginning of the current financial year if you can show you are suffering financial hardship.
