Full-time students don't pay council tax — but the exemption is not automatic, and every council wants different proof through a different form. This is what 45 councils actually ask for, from their own pages.
The rule is national: a property where every adult is a full-time student is exempt, and a household with one non-student normally gets a 25% single-person discount instead. What differs by council, and what costs people money, is the claim process — which is what each page here documents.
| City | Council | Band D 2026/27 | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Aberdeen City Council | — | university sends it |
| Bangor | Cyngor Gwynedd | £2,555 | you claim it |
| Bath | Bath and North East Somerset Council | £2,383 | university sends it |
| Belfast | Belfast City Council | — | you claim it |
| Birmingham | Birmingham City Council | £2,353 | university sends it |
| Bournemouth | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) | £2,400 | you claim it |
| Bradford | City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | £2,333 | you claim it |
| Brighton | Brighton & Hove City Council | £2,579 | you claim it |
| Bristol | Bristol City Council | £2,714 | you claim it |
| Cambridge | Cambridge City Council | £2,467 | university sends it |
| Canterbury | Canterbury City Council | £2,398 | you claim it |
| Chester | Cheshire West and Chester Council | — | you claim it |
| Colchester | Colchester City Council | £2,241 | you claim it |
| Coventry | Coventry City Council | £2,516 | you claim it |
| Dundee | Dundee City Council | £1,730 | university sends it |
| Durham | Durham County Council | £2,500 | university sends it |
| Edinburgh | The City of Edinburgh Council | £1,626 | university sends it |
| Guildford | Guildford Borough Council | £2,501 | you claim it |
| Huddersfield | Kirklees Council | £2,430 | you claim it |
| Hull | Hull City Council | £2,295 | you claim it |
| Lancaster | Lancaster City Council | £2,461 | you claim it |
| Leeds | Leeds City Council | £2,272 | you claim it |
| Leicester | Leicester City Council | £2,529 | you claim it |
| Lincoln | City of Lincoln Council | £2,323 | university sends it |
| Liverpool | Liverpool City Council | £2,674 | you claim it |
| London (Greenwich) | Royal Borough of Greenwich | — | you claim it |
| London (Hillingdon) | London Borough of Hillingdon | — | you claim it |
| London (Islington) | Islington Council | — | you claim it |
| London (Kingston) | Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames | £2,608 | university sends it |
| London (Lambeth) | Lambeth Council | £2,047 | you claim it |
| London (Tower Hamlets) | Tower Hamlets Council | — | university sends it |
| London (Westminster) | Westminster City Council | £1,048 | you claim it |
| Loughborough | Charnwood Borough Council | £2,378 | you claim it |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | Newcastle City Council | £2,541 | you claim it |
| Norwich | Norwich City Council | £2,503 | you claim it |
| Nottingham | Nottingham City Council | £2,755 | university sends it |
| Oxford | Oxford City Council | £2,676 | university sends it |
| Plymouth | Plymouth City Council | £2,442 | you claim it |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth City Council | £2,292 | you claim it |
| Reading | Reading Borough Council | £2,613 | university sends it |
| Salford | Salford City Council | £2,594 | you claim it |
| Sheffield | Sheffield City Council | £2,505 | you claim it |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Stoke-on-Trent City Council | £2,183 | you claim it |
| Wolverhampton | City of Wolverhampton Council | £2,539 | you claim it |
| York | City of York Council | £2,270 | university sends it |
Cardiff (Cardiff Council) — Not verified: the council's site sits behind a bot challenge and refused every request.
Exeter (Exeter City Council) — Not verified: the council's site reset the connection on every attempt, so nothing could be read.
Glasgow (Glasgow City Council) — Not verified: the council's site sits behind a bot challenge and refused every request.
London (Camden) (Camden Council) — Not verified: the council's site sits behind a bot challenge and refused every request.
Manchester (Manchester City Council) — Not verified: the council's site sits behind a bot challenge and refused every request, so its process could not be read.
Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough Council) — Not verified — middlesbrough.gov.uk is behind a bot challenge.
Preston (Preston City Council) — Not verified — preston.gov.uk is behind a bot challenge.
Southampton (Southampton City Council) — Not verified: the council's site serves only a JavaScript challenge stub with no readable content.
Stirling (Stirling Council) — Not verified — stirling.gov.uk returned HTTP 403 to the fetch tool on the student page, the apply page and the discounts index, and a direct HTTPS request with a browser user agent returned the plain text 'The site is currently under maintainance.' The my.stirling.gov.uk mirror 404s and content.stirling.gov.uk refused the connection (502 from the proxy).
Sunderland (Sunderland City Council) — Not verified — sunderland.gov.uk is behind a bot challenge.
Swansea (Swansea Council (Dinas a Sir Abertawe)) — Not verified — swansea.gov.uk sits behind Cloudflare.
The national rule applies in these areas too — in England, Wales and Scotland an all-student household is exempt. What could not be verified is the council's own process, which is the only part of this site worth publishing, so no page is claimed until it has been read.
Each council's own student council tax pages, read 19 August 2026 and source-linked on every page. If a figure here is wrong, it is a mistake rather than a marketing choice, and it gets corrected with the date it changed.
Processes checked 19 August 2026 against each council's own pages. This is information, not advice, and the council's page is the authority when you claim.