For council tax purposes students are most people aged over 18 in full time education, or entitled to child benefit payments.

A student nurse is someone who is taking a course which leads to a registration under the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979.

If you are an apprentice or trainee, you may still be able to claim a council tax discount.

Most full time students don't have to pay council tax.

If you receive a council tax bill and someone in your household is a student, you may be able claim a discount to reduce your bill. This depends on how many adults are in your household, and how many are full time students.

You will usually have no council tax to pay provided each member of the household applies for a student discount (PDF: 38kb) or student nurse discount (PDF: 37kb) and meets the criteria.

If you have received a council tax bill and think you should get a discount, you must contact us to check. Do not ignore your bill as it will not go away.

You could get a 25% discount off your bill. Other discounts may apply if the non-student is disabled or on a low income.

These people received a council tax discount:

• Students Faiza and Salma share a house with a friend, Nargis who works. They receive a 25% council tax discount.
• Sonia lives with her student son, Adam. She gets a 25% council tax discount.
• Tom lives with his partner, Louise who is a mature student. They get a 25% council tax discount.

If you have received a council tax bill and think you should get a discount, you must contact us to check. Do not ignore your bill as it will not go away.

You probably will not receive any discount off your bill. These include students who live with both of their parents. Other discounts may apply if any of these adults are disabled or on a low income.

If you have received a council tax bill and think you should get a discount, you must contact us to check. Do not ignore your bill as it will not go away.

You may still qualify for a student disregard if you are on a work placement. However, the time you spend on study must be longer than the time you spend on the placement over the length of your course.

If you are unsure whether you would qualify please contact us and provide full details of your course.

You can download a student disregard form (PDF: 37kb) or student nurse disregard form (PDF: 38kb), or contact us and we'll send the information to you.

If you are an apprentice or trainee, you should download and complete an Apprentice or Youth Training Trainees application form (PDF: 51kb).

Certain students won't qualify for a discount because of their circumstances. However, if you are on a low income, you may still qualify for help with your council tax under the council tax benefit scheme.

Unfortunately, most full time students won't be able to claim housing benefit because the government expects you to use other money, like your grant or student loan to pay your rent.

But, in certain circumstances we may be able to help you pay your rent under the housing benefit scheme. For example, if you are:

• a lone parent.
• a part-time student.
• aged under 19 and you are not in higher education.
• aged over 60.
• responsible for a foster child.
• receiving income support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based).
• qualifying for a disability premium or your grant includes a disabled student's allowance, or if you:
• have to interrupt your course, with the approval of the college or university, due to illness or caring responsibilities.

Even if you meet one of these criteria, you will not be able to claim benefit if you live in a hall of residence or a property owned by the college or university.

You must complete an application form for housing benefit as soon as possible as we can only normally pay you benefit from the Monday after we receive your completed claim.

You can download a housing benefit form (PDF: 157kb) or contact us and we'll send one to you. If you are part of a couple, you should contact us to see who should claim.

When you complete your application form, you should provide proof of your grant income and student loan and any other income you receive.

When we calculate your housing benefit, we treat students as receiving a student loan, even if you do not apply for one.

For more information about housing benefit, please see our housing and council tax benefit information.