Those of us moving to Universal Credit will have to apply for Council Tax Support separately through our local council.

If we are moving onto Universal Credit, we need to apply for Council Tax Support in a separate application. If we don’t, we could miss out on £1,000 a year, according to Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis. 

Those of us on older style benefits, such as Housing Benefit, have gotten used to automatic Council Tax discounts. However, this automatic system will stop once we are moved onto Universal Credit.

Quids in! coaches report many people moving on to Universal Credit don’t realise their Council Tax Support will stop, unless they inform their local council. No wonder millions of people are missing out on a total of £3.4 billion in Council Tax Support.

Each council runs its own Council Tax reduction scheme. But we can be eligible for support if we are on low income, have savings and assets less than £16,000, or receive Pension Credit. 

The amount of Council Tax reduction depends on a number of factors such as age, income, savings, who we live with, and amount of Council Tax we pay.

Whichever department at our local council deals with Housing Benefit or Council Tax should have some help on offer for new UC claimants. This is often the ‘Revenues and Benefits department’ but different councils have different names for these teams. 

We can find our local council by entering our postcode here. 

Tip: It can be helpful to prepare before calling our local council as they will ask about our details and circumstances. The Quids in! Benefits Calculator will give us an idea of how much we are entitled to and help us review our current situation. Depending on our situation, our bill could be slashed by up to 100%. 

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