How to claim the 'severely mentally impaired' council tax discount
Who's eligible and what you need to know
Hundreds of thousands of people considered to be 'severely mentally impaired' in England, Scotland and Wales could be missing out on a council tax discount worth £100s – and even backdated payments worth £1,000s. We've been raising awareness of this discount for years now, and many have successfully claimed. See if it can help you too.
What is the 'severely mentally impaired' council tax discount?
The 'severely mentally impaired' (SMI) council tax discount is a reduction off of a household's council tax bill, worth, at a minimum, 25%, all the way up to, in some cases, the entire bill being wiped.
'Severely mentally impaired' is a horrible term, so we'll refer to it as SMI for the purposes of this guide.
SMI is a medical diagnosis in itself, but the underlying cause could be a condition such as dementia (including Alzheimer's), profound learning difficulties, multiple sclerosis, the result of a severe stroke or something else.
The discount size depends on who you live with
Council tax is discounted based on how many qualifying adults live in a household. Having SMI means you don't count towards this (like full-time students & under-18s), so...
- SMI living alone: household gets 100% council tax discount (ie, you pay nowt)
- SMI living with an adult carer: household gets 50% council tax discount
- SMI living with one qualifying adult: household gets single person reduction, so 25% discount
- SMI living with two or more qualifying adults: household pays full council tax, so no discount
And just to be clear, if there are under-18s, full-time students or others with SMI in the household as well, they don't change the situation above (as they don't count towards council tax either) – so a household where someone with an SMI lives with an under-18 still gets the 100% discount. See our full Council tax discounts help.
Why we've been campaigning on SMI for years
We began raising awareness of SMI back in 2016, and we've since seen many successful applications for the SMI discount...
My aunt has just received a refund worth over £7,000 and won't have to pay council tax again. She has been profoundly deaf since birth and now has dementia. At 96 and bed-bound, this will go a long way towards getting her the support she now requires.
- Jan
Thanks so much for the tip about council tax savings for people diagnosed as severely mentally impaired. I'd never heard of it until I saw your guide. My aunt, who has dementia, just received a refund from her council for £4,200. Looking ahead, it also means she'll be saving around £1,200/year off her council tax bill – a significant sum for a 92-year-old with limited income.
- Maggie
Payouts can on occasions be even bigger than this, sometimes nearer to £10,000...
'Mum got a £15,000 council tax refund for her dementia and had future bills axed'
One of our biggest SMI successes was reported by Graham, whose wife applied for the discount on behalf of her 98-year-old mother, who has vascular dementia. Not only did the local authority reduce her council tax bill to zero, but she was also awarded a £15,000 backdated pay-out. You can read more in our 'Mum got £15,000 SMI council tax refund' news story.
'We got a £7,500 council tax refund as our daughter has autism and we're her carers'
An inspiring success came from John and Nicola, whose adult daughter, Kate, lives with a form of autism. The family got a £7,500 council tax refund and had future bills reduced by 50% both because Kate qualifies for the SMI discount and as John and Nicola are eligible for a separate council tax discount for live-in carers. You can read more about their success here.
Another couple, Paul and Pamela from Edinburgh, got a £10,000 council tax refund and slashed their future bills by 50% as their adult son, Stuart, who lives with cerebral palsy, qualifies as SMI while they qualify as his live-in carers.
Who can get the SMI council tax discount?
There are two criteria that must be met by someone who's severely mentally impaired in order to qualify for this council tax discount:
- They've been medically certified as being 'severely mentally impaired'. For example, this may be the case if they have dementia (including Alzheimer's), Parkinson's, severe learning difficulties, multiple sclerosis, complications from cerebral palsy or have had a stroke.
It will depend on each person's individual case though and simply having been diagnosed with one of these conditions doesn't automatically mean they qualify for the discount – a doctor must also certify they are 'severely mentally impaired'.
GPs are not allowed to charge you for this certification.
- They're receiving at least one of the following benefits (in Scotland, being eligible for but not actually receiving the benefit can be enough):
- Incapacity benefit
- Attendance allowance
- Severe disablement allowance
- Disability living allowance (higher or middle-rate care component)
- Increase in disablement pension (due to constant attendance being needed)
- Unemployability supplement or allowance
- Constant attendance allowance
- Income support (which includes a disability premium)
- Personal independence payment (standard or enhanced daily living component)
- Armed forces independence payment
In England and Wales you can also be receiving:
- Disability working allowance (based on getting income support including disability premium)
- Universal credit (including an element for limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work-related activity)
In Scotland you can also be eligible for / receiving:
- Tax credits (including disability element)
- Employment and support allowance
- Universal credit
Important. It used to be the case England and Wales that the person only had to be eligible for – but not necessarily actually receiving – the qualifying benefit, but this changed following a High Court ruling.
The law is less clear cut in Scotland, and so with some Scottish councils it's fine if you're just eligible for the qualifying benefit, while with others you'll need to actually be receiving the benefit. It's a bit of a postcode lottery.
Quick question:
How to claim the discount
The process for making a claim varies depending where you live, so you'll need to check your local authority's procedure.
These are the basics for England and Scotland, but jump down for Wales, and for details of a roughly similar discount in Northern Ireland.
Applying for the discount in England and Scotland
- Get a claim form from your council. You'll need to contact your local authority for a claim form to register for a council tax discount (find contact details via the Government's 'Apply for Council Tax Reduction' service).
- Get a doctor's diagnosis. A registered medical practitioner must have diagnosed you (or the person you're applying for) as 'severely mentally impaired'. In some cases you'll need to attach a written diagnosis to your claim – in others you just give your doctor's details and they'll be contacted for confirmation.
Where your claim is accepted, the discount should then apply automatically each year, meaning you won't have to 'reapply' (though you should contact your council if you believe you no longer qualify for the discount).
Can I backdate the claim?
It's always worth asking when you submit your claim, and while some councils do backdate, they are not legally obliged to – each council can decide their own policy. For example...
- Some councils backdated the discount by six years.
- Some backdate to the point that the individual was receiving a certain benefit.
- But we've also heard some councils don't backdate at all.
As we say, do ask... as we've even heard of some councils only giving a backdated payout when asked.
'We used old bank statements to backdate our SMI claim by 17 years – and got £20,000
While some councils do backdate, they might ask for extra evidence – something Paul from Edinburgh had to put some effort in to obtain – but the results were worth it.
Paul received a backdated payout from his council in 2024 on behalf of his son, Stuart, who has cerebral palsy. But the £10,000 refund could have been bigger if the council had backdated further than 2017 (Stuart had been in receipt of a qualifying benefit since 2007). This was because the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) could only provide proof of receipt going back this far, as the older information had been destroyed.
But following a tip from us, Paul asked his bank to dig out old bank statements from 2007, which showed his son in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, details of which he then passed on to the council.
Following further discussions with the council, including a call with a tax assessor, the council agreed the bank statements were sufficient proof and it increased Paul and Stuart's backdated payout to £20,000 – one of the biggest SMI successes we've seen.
So where you can't get the required evidence from DWP to support a backdated claim, it's worth sourcing old bank statements as an alternative.
Applying for the discount in Wales
Following the publication of our report The Disregarded Discount in 2017, which outlined several changes that councils should make to the process for getting discounts and rebates, the Welsh Government and all 22 Welsh local authorities agreed to make every change we called for.
This means the application form for the discount has been standardised across the country, and backdating is allowed by EVERY council in a standardised way. Bravo Wales!
The Welsh Government has a dedicated webpage, with details of the discount and how to claim, and a leaflet of the information (which also helps council call-handlers).
If you're in Wales and want to claim a discount, you need to:
- Print the application form from the Welsh Government website.
- Get a diagnosis (or get a diagnosis for the resident you wish to claim for). To be eligible, the person claiming the discount must be diagnosed as SMI by a doctor. There's a section for your doctor to fill in on the form.
- Send it to your council's tax office. You can find details for your council here.
The form will ask for a date of diagnosis, so if you're owed a backdated rebate, your application form will cover this.
There's only a roughly equivalent discount in Northern Ireland
Because there is the rates system in Northern Ireland, rather than council tax, every property is valued individually.
The only roughly similar discount to SMI in Northern Ireland is the disabled person's allowance, which gives a 25% discount on rates for homes where a disabled person lives and the property has been adapted to suit their needs. See full info on the NIdirect website.
Let us know how you've got on. Whether you've successfully claimed, or have tried to but had problems, tell us at smi@moneysavingexpert.com.
Also see our Disability money matters MSE Forum board to see other people's experience of claiming the SMI discount.
Rejected for an SMI discount? You can appeal
Some people have reported struggling to claim the SMI discount, such as Philip, who said: "My wife started receiving benefits for Parkinson's in 2001. My council originally told me that we didn't qualify as we had savings. However, it eventually admitted it had given us wrong information and we were given a 25% discount."
If your council has rejected your application for the SMI discount, but you believe its decision was wrong and that you are indeed eligible, then there is an appeals process.
Make sure you take note of any relevant timescales before you appeal, because if you leave it too late then you will probably have to start the entire SMI application process again.
Do note that if you have been accepted for an SMI discount but you're unhappy with how far the council is willing to backdate your claim, you can also appeal this (provided you have legitimate reason to dispute this).
The appeals process differs depending on where you live. England's below, or jump down for Wales and Scotland...
Making an appeal if you live in England
If the council rejects your SMI application but you disagree with its decision, you should first appeal directly to the council itself. The council will have two months to issue its final response.
- Should the council continue to disagree, you can then take your case to the Valuation Tribunal Service (this must be done within two months of the council's final response).
- If the council doesn't respond to your initial appeal within two months, you can automatically take your case to the Valuation Tribunal Service. However, this must be done within four months of sending the initial appeal.
You can take your case to the Valuation Tribunal Service by filling in this online form.
Making an appeal if you live in Wales
A council has two months to respond to your application for SMI. If it rejects your application, it should write to you outlining its reasons and enclose a form with which you can appeal.
- To appeal, you'll need to fill in the form and send it to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales (this must be done within two months of the council's decision).
- If your council doesn't include an appeal form, you can download it from the Valuation Tribunal for Wales. Alternatively you can call 01633 255003 or email correspondence@valuationtribunal.wales asking for a copy. Writing a letter directly to the tribunal should also TECHNICALLY be enough to start the appeals process, but it's recommended you use the appeal form.
In the event that the council does not respond to your initial SMI application (ie, you don't get a reply) within two months, you can take your case automatically to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales. However, this must be done within four months of you having applied for SMI.
Making an appeal if you live in Scotland
If the council rejects your SMI application but you disagree with its decision, you should appeal directly to the council itself. Your council will then refer your appeal to the local Valuation Appeal Committee if either of the following apply:
- Your council has replied to your appeal within two months without resolving the dispute.
- The council has not replied within two months and you have sent another final written communication to your council in which you say you'd like to appeal to your local Valuation Appeal Committee, and this written communication is sent within four months of sending your first appeal.
When the council refers your case, your local Valuation Appeal Committee will get in touch directly with you.
Quick question
SMI discount FAQs
Other MSE council tax guides...
- Council tax discounts. Check if you can get 25% or 50% off your bill – some shouldn't be paying at all.
- How to reclaim overpaid council tax: Check how much you could be owed.
- How to check & challenge your council tax band: Up to 400,000 households are thought to be in the wrong band – and could be owed £1,000s.
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