£150 Council Tax Rebate: Who Qualified, Is It Still Available, and What Help Exists?

Last reviewed: 7 October 2026

The £150 Council Tax Rebate was a one-off cost-of-living payment introduced by the UK Government in February 2022 for eligible households in England.

It was mainly available to people living in Council Tax bands A to D, provided the property was their main home and the qualifying conditions were met on 1 April 2022.

It was not an annual Council Tax discount, it was not based on household income or the market value of a home being below £150,000, and eligible households did not receive £150 every year.

Most importantly for anyone searching today, the scheme has closed. The final deadline was 30 November 2022. People struggling with Council Tax in 2026 should instead look at Council Tax Reduction, discounts, exemptions and newer local financial-support schemes.

What Was the £150 Council Tax Rebate?

The Government announced the Council Tax Rebate on 3 February 2022 as part of a wider package intended to help households cope with rapidly rising energy costs.

Eligible households in England received a single, non-repayable £150 payment.

The Government estimated the main scheme at around £2.93 billion and also made £144 million available through a separate discretionary fund for councils to support households experiencing financial hardship that fell outside the core eligibility rules.

Despite its name, the rebate was generally a separate payment rather than a permanent reduction in Council Tax liability. Where councils could not make a direct payment, however, they could place the £150 credit onto the household’s Council Tax account.

That distinction matters. Receiving the rebate did not change a property’s Council Tax band or permanently reduce the annual Council Tax charge.

Who Qualified for the £150 Council Tax Rebate in England?

For the core English scheme, eligibility was largely determined by a snapshot of the household’s position at the end of 1 April 2022.

The property generally had to be the claimant’s sole or main residence and be valued in Council Tax bands A, B, C or D. A Band E property treated as Band D under the disabled band reduction rules could also qualify.

Certain Council Tax-exempt households in exemption classes N, S, U and W were included as well.

There was no £30,000, £50,000 or £60,000 household-income limit for the core payment. There was also no condition requiring someone to own their home, have children, use a certain amount of energy or have a property worth less than £150,000.

How Did Common Household Situations Affect Eligibility?

The Government specifically confirmed that a property with a nil Council Tax liability because of local Council Tax Support could still qualify. Empty properties and second homes without a permanent resident did not.

Could Tenants Get the £150 Council Tax Rebate?

Yes. Home ownership was not an eligibility condition.

A private or social tenant who was liable for Council Tax on an eligible Band A-D home and occupied it as their main residence on 1 April 2022 could qualify.

The position was different for some Houses in Multiple Occupation. Where the landlord rather than the occupants was liable for Council Tax and the landlord did not live at the property, the occupants did not qualify through the core scheme for that dwelling.

Councils were, however, permitted to consider such households through their discretionary funds.

Did Students Qualify for the £150 Council Tax Rebate?

Some did.

A property occupied entirely by full-time students can normally be exempt from Council Tax.

For the 2022 rebate, the English rules expressly included certain properties in exemption class N, which covers homes occupied solely by qualifying students and certain related groups.

Therefore, being a student did not automatically exclude a household.

Student halls were different. Government guidance stated that occupants of exemption class M student halls were unlikely to receive support from the discretionary fund unless they were exposed to rising energy costs in a comparable way to other households.

Anyone checking their current Council Tax liability rather than the expired £150 scheme should remember that full-time students are still among the groups who may be disregarded for Council Tax purposes.

How Was the £150 Council Tax Rebate Paid?

Payment depended mainly on whether the council already held verified bank details.

For eligible households paying Council Tax by Direct Debit, councils were instructed to make the payment automatically where they were satisfied the household qualified and the bank information matched the liable Council Tax payer.

Where no live Direct Debit instruction existed, councils generally contacted eligible households and provided a way to claim. Councils could use their own local claims processes and were expected to provide alternatives for residents who could not apply digitally.

They could also offer a £150 credit to the Council Tax account instead of making a bank payment. Where direct payment was not possible, councils could ultimately apply the money to the Council Tax account.

There was therefore no national requirement for every claimant to upload a passport, bank statements or a US-style “routing number”.

Councils were required to carry out appropriate checks where bank details were supplied, but the precise evidence required depended on the payment process being used.

Was the £150 Council Tax Rebate Taxable or Did It Affect Benefits?

No. The treatment of the payment was unusually straightforward.

Government guidance confirmed that payments from both the main Council Tax Rebate and the associated discretionary fund were non-taxable.

Recipients did not have to declare the payment to HMRC, and self-employed people did not have to include it on their Self Assessment return.

The payment was also disregarded when calculating income-related benefits and Council Tax Support. It did not affect tax credits.

This means receiving the £150 did not, by itself, reduce someone’s Universal Credit or create an Income Tax bill.

What Was the £144 Million Discretionary Fund?

The £144 million discretionary fund was separate from the main £150 scheme.

The Government gave the funding to English billing authorities because some households facing serious cost-of-living pressures would not qualify under the Band A-D rules.

Councils had discretion over how the money was targeted.

Government guidance specifically allowed councils to consider households in Bands E-H receiving income-related benefits, households where the person responsible for energy bills was not the Council Tax payer, and particularly vulnerable Band A-D households that might benefit from additional support.

Payments could even exceed £150 where a council’s local scheme permitted it.

This is why eligibility for the discretionary fund could differ between councils, while eligibility for the main £150 English rebate followed national criteria.

The discretionary fund also ended in 2022. It should not be confused with hardship funds operating in 2026.

What Happened If Someone Moved Home Around April 2022?

The key date for the core English scheme was 1 April 2022.

If someone occupied an eligible property as their main residence and was liable for Council Tax at the end of that day, later moving elsewhere did not automatically erase their entitlement.

Someone who only moved into an eligible Band A-D property after 1 April 2022 did not normally acquire entitlement to the core rebate for that property simply because they subsequently became the Council Tax payer.

Councils were instructed to use the circumstances existing on 1 April and could amend or recover payments where Council Tax records were subsequently corrected.

What Should You Do If You Never Received the £150 Rebate?

The application window is now closed, so there is no new national £150 Council Tax Rebate claim to make in 2026.

However, someone who genuinely believes they qualified in 2022 and never received the money should contact the council that administered their Council Tax account at the time.

Ask the council to check whether a payment was issued, whether £150 was credited to the Council Tax account, whether an old account still contains a credit, and whether the council has any procedure for correcting a historical payment error.

Do not submit personal or banking information in response to unsolicited messages claiming that the £150 rebate can still be “claimed” online. The national application scheme ended years ago.

If a household received the payment incorrectly, it should also contact the council. The original guidance allowed councils to recover payments where later information showed that the eligibility conditions had not been satisfied.

Did Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Have the Same £150 Rebate?

No. The £150 Council Tax Rebate described above applied to England only.

The devolved administrations received corresponding funding through the Barnett formula. UK Government guidance put that funding at around £576 million, rather than treating the English scheme as a UK-wide programme.

Scotland’s Government described its scheme as a single £150 Cost of Living payment, with eligible households including people in Bands A-D and people receiving Council Tax Reduction.

Wales also introduced a separate £150 scheme. The Welsh Government confirmed that households receiving support through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme could qualify regardless of their property’s valuation band.

Northern Ireland instead operates a domestic rates system, with Rate Rebate remaining one form of means-tested assistance for qualifying households.

What Was the £150 Council Tax Rebate Timeline?

By the end of September 2022, more than 19 million English households had received the core payment and the Government reported that more than 99% of eligible households had been reached.

What Council Tax Help Is Available in 2026?

People searching for the £150 rebate today are usually looking for one of two things: help with their Council Tax bill or support because household finances are under pressure.

The old rebate is not the appropriate scheme for either problem.

Current options in England can include:

• Council Tax Reduction or Council Tax Support: Low-income households and some benefit claimants may receive a discount of up to 100%, although working-age schemes differ by council. Homeowners, tenants, people in work and unemployed people can potentially qualify.
• Single-person and disregarded-person discounts: A full Council Tax bill assumes at least two adults. Someone living alone normally receives a 25% discount, while other reductions can apply where residents are disregarded.
• Council Tax exemptions: Certain properties and household circumstances can qualify for full exemption. More detail is covered in Council Tax exemption overview.
• Other Council Tax discounts: Eligibility depends on circumstances rather than the old £150 rebate rules. Also covers the broader subject of Council Tax discounts.
• Crisis and Resilience Fund support: From 1 April 2026, England’s Crisis and Resilience Fund replaced the previous Household Support Fund framework and provides local authorities with funding for crisis payments, housing support and financial-resilience services. It is scheduled to operate until 31 March 2029.
• Payment arrangements and local hardship support: Someone already behind with Council Tax should contact their council early. Individual councils can offer different arrangements and discretionary assistance.

Council Tax Reduction should not be confused with the expired £150 payment. It is an ongoing means-tested reduction applied to a person’s Council Tax bill, and each English council operates its own working-age scheme.

How Does Council Tax Help Differ Between Local Authorities in 2026?

The 2022 £150 core rebate did not have separate Birmingham, Durham, Northumberland, Portsmouth or Redcar versions. Those councils were administering the same national English scheme.

Local variation matters much more for today’s support.

For example, Birmingham City Council says residents receiving Council Tax Support who still have Council Tax to pay in 2026/27 automatically receive an additional support award of up to £25.

It also operates discretionary hardship payments for Council Tax Support claimants experiencing financial difficulty.

Durham County Council currently provides routes to Council Tax discounts and payment arrangements and has a discretionary award process for residents who have experienced a sudden financial shock.

This is current local assistance, not a continuation of the 2022 £150 rebate.

Northumberland County Council introduced an income-banded Council Tax Support scheme for working-age residents from April 2026, while pension-age support continues to be assessed under the applicable pension-age framework.

Portsmouth City Council also operates its own Council Tax Support system.

Its working-age income-band scheme currently provides reductions at different percentage levels depending on household circumstances and income, and exceptional hardship support may also be available.

This is why people should now check their current local council’s rules, rather than searching for a new version of the 2022 £150 rebate.

How Is Council Tax Reduction Different From the £150 Rebate?

The two schemes should not be treated as interchangeable.

This distinction is particularly important for people receiving Universal Credit.

Receiving Universal Credit does not automatically remove Council Tax liability and, in many areas, a separate Council Tax Support application is necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are We Still Getting the £150 Council Tax Rebate?

No. The national English £150 Council Tax Rebate was a one-off 2022 scheme and closed on 30 November 2022.

Who Got the £150 Council Tax Rebate?

The English core scheme mainly covered households living in Council Tax Band A-D properties as their sole or main residence on 1 April 2022, subject to the detailed eligibility rules.

Did You Have to Own Your Home to Get the £150 Rebate?

No. Tenants could qualify where they were liable for Council Tax and otherwise met the rules. Home ownership was not required.

Could Students Get the £150 Council Tax Rebate?

Some student households could qualify because certain Council Tax-exempt properties were included. Student halls were treated differently.

Was the £150 Council Tax Rebate Taxable?

No. Government guidance stated that the payment was non-taxable and was disregarded for income-related benefits.

Can I Claim the £150 Council Tax Rebate Now?

No new claim can be made under the closed scheme. If you believe a 2022 payment was missed, ask your former or current council to check the historical Council Tax account.