EXPLORE ABERDEEN

A Guide to Council Tax for students in Aberdeen City

Details

Below you will find information on all aspects of Council Tax for students.

Back to the Council Tax and Benefits home page.

Welcome

We hope you have a happy, safe and enjoyable time while studying in our City.

Before you read on, please read the pages on Council Tax and Benefits home page.

Remember - exemption from Council Tax IS NOT applied automatically when you are a student.  You must apply for exemption / discount.   Get in touch with us as soon as you can using the contacts section below.

A Guide to Council Tax and Students

Who is classed as a student?

There are 3 definitions of full-time students used for Council Tax purposes:

  • Full time students in further or higher education
    A full-time course is defined as one that lasts for at least one academic year.  The Student is required to attend for at least 24 weeks a year and undertake, on average, at least 21 hours of study and tuition in each of those weeks.  This includes Students undertaking work experience, but only if the periods of study exceed the periods of work experience when aggregated over the whole course.  If work experience exceeds study then it will not be treated as a full-time course of education.
    N.B.  Student nurses studying academic courses at university or college will be treated as full-time students for Council Tax purposes.
  • Students under 20 in non-advanced education
    For Council Tax purposes, these students are said to be undertaking "qualifying courses of education".  The main conditions are that the student is under 20 years of age, is studying on a course up to but not above Higher level, Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) or Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and is normally required to study for at least 12 hours per week.  Also the course should be for at least three months duration.
  • Foreign Language Assistants
    This requires the assistant to be registered with the Central Bureau for Education Visits and Exchanges.

If you do not fall into one of these categories, you may be entitled to Council Tax Benefit based on your income.  Select the following link for more information on Council Tax Benefit.

Council Tax Reliefs

Your Council Tax bill will be reduced if you qualify for Council Tax Exemptions or Discount:

Council Tax Exemption

You may apply for an exemption if:

  • You live alone and are a full-time student
  • All the adult residents are full-time students
  • The residents are any mixture of the following:
    • full time students
    • Non-British students and their spouses
    • Persons under 18
    • School leavers under 20
    • Severely mentally impaired persons
    • The property is unoccupied and you are the sole liable person and a full-time student
    • All of the liable persons of an unoccupied property are full-time students.

Council Tax Discount

Council Tax legislation makes the assumption that there are 2 adults living in each property.

Certain adults such as students, student nurses, apprentices, mentally impaired persons and certain care workers are not counted in the number of adults in the household for discount purposes.

If, after disregarding these people, one adult remains for Council Tax purposes, a 25% Status Discount may be due.

Foreign Students

European Community students and their families may only apply for Council Tax Benefit if they are considered to be 'vulnerable', i.e. they are a single parent or have a disability.  Non-European Community students and their families cannot apply for Council Tax Benefit.

Proving you are a Student

Aberdeen City Council will consider you to be a Student for Council Tax purposes when we are satisfied with the documentation that you present to us.

Matriculation cards, student loan acceptance letters or acceptance letters from the University or College are not acceptable.

We will consider your claim where we are presented with a statutory student certificate, available from the registrar at your College or University, along with a completed Council Tax Exemption or Discount application form.  You can download these forms from this page.

All documentation should be forwarded to Aberdeen City Council where it is retained for audit purposes.

You will cease to be a student for Council Tax purposes when you have completed your course of study, if you have abandoned it or are no longer permitted by the educational institution to attend it.

Points to remember

  • From 1/2/2001 full-time students are excluded from joint and several liability where they share accommodation with non-students
  • You should advise the council of any change of address as soon as possible
  • Do not ignore a Council Tax bill - confirm your student status with the Council
  • Council Tax Student Discounts and Exemptions can be backdated
  • If you are unhappy with any aspect of your Council Tax you should in the first instance write to Aberdeen City Council at the address below
  • You will already be exempt if you live in a recognised hall of residence
  • Part-time students are NOT entitled to claim Council Tax Exemption.   They can, however, apply for Council Tax Benefit

Contact(s)