The Treasury has confirmed that the government will not end the single-occupier council tax discount, after weeks of speculation.
Earlier this month, the Labour Party refused to rule out scrapping the 25% council tax discount for single occupiers. Such a move would have piled pressure onto widows, divorcees, single parents and other people who live alone.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the discount currently reduces the average Band D council tax bill by about £543 per year. However, even with the discount in place, single dwellers are still paying significantly more for council services per person than people who live as a couple or in a multi-adult household.
According to the latest figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a total of 8.39 million households in England received the discount in 2023. The data shows just over a third (34%) of all households in the country would be affected if the discount was ditched.
Previously, deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner refused to rule out scrapping the discount for people who are the only adult living in their home.
But, on Sunday, the Treasury confirmed that the Budget, scheduled for 30 October, will not contain measures to scrap the tax break.
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Analysis from the TaxPayers’ Alliance previously found that scrapping the discount would have raised £5.4bn, £1.9bn of which would have been taken from single pensioners, many of whom will also be affected by means-testing of the Winter Fuel Payment.
However, although the Treasury has ruled out scrapping the single-person council tax discount, there are rumours it could announce an overhaul of council tax bands, which were last evaluated in 1991.
Campaigners have been calling for the single-occupier discount to be increased to 50%. A petition earlier this year entitled ‘Give one-person households 50% council tax discount rather than 25%’ received more than 12,000 signatures, but ministers refused to act.
The Single Council Tax Campaign (SCTC) posted on X in response to the latest development: “It should never have been on the table, people who are eligible to claim the discount are already financially worse off than those in double income households, but this is amazing news.”
This article was first published on Mortgage Solutions‘ sister site, YourMoney.com. Read: Relief for solo dwellers as Labour Party confirms it won’t scrap council tax discount
