Do full-time students have to pay council tax in the UK?

Full answer

Full-time students receive one of the most generous council tax reliefs available, and understanding exactly how the exemption and discount rules interact helps avoid confusion, particularly in shared student houses with a mix of students and non-students. **Full exemption for all-student households** If every adult resident in a property is a full-time student (broadly, someone on a course lasting at least one academic year, involving at least 21 hours of study a week, though the precise definition has specific criteria that should be checked with the local council or educational institution), the property is entirely exempt from council tax -- no bill is payable at all, and the exemption applies automatically to properties meeting the criteria, though a student status certificate is normally required from the council to confirm it. **Discount for mixed student and non-student households** Where a household has a mixture of full-time students and one or more non-student adults, the full exemption does not apply, but full-time students are still "disregarded" when counting how many adults live in the property for discount purposes -- if this leaves only ONE counted (non-disregarded) adult in the property, the household qualifies for the 25% single person discount, exactly as if the student housemates were not living there at all for council tax purposes. **Worked example** A shared house has three full-time students and one adult who has finished their course and is now working full-time. Because the three students are disregarded, only the working adult counts for council tax purposes, meaning the household qualifies for the 25% single person discount, even though four people actually live in the property. **What happens during holidays or after finishing a course** Students generally remain classed as full-time students (and therefore disregarded) for council tax purposes during normal vacation periods within their course, but the exemption or discount typically ends once a student has actually completed or left their course, even if they continue living at the same address -- a graduate who finishes their course but stays in the same shared house becomes a "counted" adult from that point, which can change the property from a full exemption to a discount, or remove a discount that previously applied. **Postgraduate and part-time students** Full-time postgraduate students generally qualify for the same disregard as full-time undergraduates, but part-time students do not automatically qualify as disregarded persons purely by virtue of studying part-time -- someone studying part-time alongside work is normally treated as a counted adult for council tax purposes, unlike a full-time student. **How to claim the exemption or discount** Students (or the household as a whole) typically need to apply to the local council, providing a council tax exemption certificate from their university or college confirming full-time student status for the relevant period -- this is not always applied automatically simply because a household includes students, so proactively contacting the council with the necessary evidence is important. **Practical tip** If you live in an all-student household, apply to your council with a student status certificate to secure the full exemption, and if you share with a mix of students and working adults, check whether the working adults' single person discount (rather than full exemption) applies -- and remember to notify the council promptly once a student housemate finishes their course, since this can change the household's entitlement.

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• How does the 25% single person council tax discount work?