Council Tax
Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions
As a full-time student (including apprentices), your household may be eligible for a discount on your council tax bill or exemption from council tax. Part-time students do not qualify.
If you are the only person in the household, or all the other residents are full–time students, the household will be exempt from council tax.
If you are a full-time student living with other residents over the age of 18 who are not students or are studying part time, you will qualify for a 25% reduction.
Do I qualify?
To qualify for exemption as a student, the legislation requires that individuals must be undertaking a full-time course of education. This is defined (in brief) as:
- A course which lasts for at least one academic or calendar year, on which students are normally required to attend for periods of at least 24 weeks in each academic or calendar year.
- A course that also requires a period of study, tuition or work experience amounting to an average of at least 21 hours a week in each academic or calendar year.
If you are unsure of your attendance status, please contact the HE Faculty Office via email or phone 01803 540788. If you have any specific council tax queries, you will need to contact your local council tax office.
If you suspend your studies or withdraw from your course, you will not be exempt from paying council tax. It is your responsibility to inform the local council tax office of a change to your student status.
How to get a Council Tax certificate
All students will need to download and complete a Council Tax Certificate from the UCSD Forms and Resources page on Moodle.
You will then need to bring the printed certificate to the HE Faculty Office on the first floor of the University Centre to be stamped. Once stamped, you are responsible for sending the certificate to your council to be processed.
If you are a Torbay or South Hams resident, you will also need to notify the council that you are a student on their website using the links below:
Council Tax Disregard – students (Torbay)
Council Tax Reductions for students (South Hams)
Further information and guidance
Click the links below for more information and guidance on local council and government policies regarding council tax.