Council tax discounts - persons with severe mental impairment

Anyone who is medically certified as being Severely Mentally Impaired (SMI) may be eligible for a Council Tax exemption or discount. This means that the person will have a severe impairment of their intellectual and social functioning that appears to be permanent.

Conditions that can lead to severe mental impairment (SMI) include:

• Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia
• Parkinson’s disease
• Severe learning difficulties, or
• A stroke

Many other conditions may apply.

To be eligible, the person must be diagnosed as SMI by a doctor and must also be entitled to a qualifying benefit.

How much discount can you get?

Your full council tax bill is based on at least two adults (people over 18) living in a property.

People certified as Severely Mentally Impaired do not count towards the number of adults considered to be living in a property.

This means if 2 adults live in a property and 1 of them is a person with severe mental impairment, the bill will be worked out as if only 1 adult lives there. This would reduce the bill by 25%.

If the only person or all persons living in the property have severe mental impairment, they will be fully exempt from council tax.

Documents needed to apply

Before applying for a person with severe mental impairment discount, you will need the following documents:

• a signed medical certificate from a qualified medial professional confirming the following:
  • Medical practitioner's full name
  • Medical practitioner's full address
  • Confirmation that the medical practitioner assesses in their opinion, the patient named in the application is suffering from a severe mental impairment that affects his or her social functioning as described in the Local Government Finance Act of 1992.
  • The date the situation has applied from.
• proof that the person classed as severely mentally impaired is in receipt of at least one of the qualifying benefits listed below, or have been eligible for a qualifying benefit if they are of pension age:
  • Incapacity Benefit or Employment Support Allowance
  • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Unemployability Supplement
  • Unemployability Allowance
  • Attendance Allowance
  • An increase in the rate of Disablement Pension for Constant Attendance
  • Personal Standard or Enhanced Daily Living Component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Apply for a council tax discount - person with severe mental impairment