Editing Council Tax (section)

====Non-dependant deductions====

A ''non-dependant'' is a person that the claimant is sharing accommodation with but is not a member of their own household (that is, not a partner, dependant, etc.), such as lodgers or joint tenants. Since it would be reasonable to expect non-dependants to contribute towards the Council Tax bill, Council Tax Benefit was reduced so that it only covered the claimant's hypothetical portion of the Council Tax bill.

However, no reduction was imposed if the claimant or their partner needed substantial care; this qualification was met if, and only if, the claimant was:
*Registered blind, or
*In receipt of
**the Care Component (any rate) of Disability Living Allowance, or
**Severe Disablement Allowance, or
**Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance

No contribution was expected from non-dependants who would themselves qualify for Council Tax benefit, were not counted towards the number of residents liable for Council Tax (for example, due to being a student), were normally resident elsewhere, or were not adults. But the remaining non-dependants were each hypothetically expected to contribute the following amounts:
*£2.30 if in part-time work, otherwise
*£2.30 if weekly income is under £178
*£4.60 if weekly income is between £178 and £305.99
*£5.80 if weekly income is between £306 and £381.99
*£6.95 if weekly income is over £382

Council Tax Benefit was therefore reduced by an amount equal to these hypothetically expected contributions.