Who Pays the Council Tax?
Where a dwelling is occupied as a sole or main residence, the Council Tax is paid by the Resident, defined as any person of 18 years or more who has his or her sole/main residence in the dwelling concerned.
The rules of liability are set out in section 6 of the LGFA and are based on a hierarchy of liability. That is, the liable person is whomever comes first into the applicable category from the list below:
- Resident Freeholder
- Resident Leaseholder
- Resident Statutory or Secure Tenant
- Resident with License to Occupy
- Resident with no Agreement
- Non-Resident Owner
Exceptions
There are some exceptions to single-occupant residents being liable for council tax. These are:
- Joint and Several Taxpayers who are persons with the same interest in the dwelling are equally liable for the Council Tax. Married/Unmarried couples are joint and severally liable even if they do not have an equal interest in the dwelling
- Severely Mentally Impaired (SMI) persons cannot be liable if they reside with a non-SMI person. If a husband and wife live together and one of them is Severely Mentally Impaired then the non-SMI will be the sole liable person
- Students from April 1st 2004; a student cannot be liable if they reside with a non-student
Owner Liability
There are, in addition, 6 categories where the owner is liable regardless of hierarchy table:
- A - Residential Care homes
- B - Religious Communities
- C - Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
- D - Occupied by Resident Staff
- E - Ministers of Religion
- F - Asylum Seekers