On 5 December 2005 the law changed to enable two people of the same sex to form a civil partnership and be entitled to many of the same rights and responsibilities as married couples.

The main change to council tax is that civil partners are now jointly liable to pay their council tax in the same way that married couples have always been.

There have also been some minor amendments to the council tax legislation as a result of this law and these are detailed below:

Students
A civil partner of a foreign student will be exempt or disregarded from council tax if he or she is not a UK citizen and not permitted to work or claim benefit whilst in the UK.

Unoccupied property discount of 50%
If, as a condition of employment, you or your civil partner is required to live elsewhere (such as publican, caretaker, live-in teacher etc) then you may be entitled to a 50% reduction in your home you have left empty.

Carer disregards
If a person moves into your home to care for you, you may be entitled to a discount of up to 25%.  However, the carer must not be a relative.  From 1 April 2006, a civil partner has been classed as a relative.

Annexes
An annexe attached to your house is exempt from council tax if you or your partner’s dependent relatives live in it.  This has now been extended to include the dependent relatives of a civil partner.

Liabilities on death
The council tax arrears of a civil partner are payable by the executor, out of the deceased estate, and annuities payable to a surviving civil partner are excluded from an attachment of earnings order.

If you would like further information, please contact:

Council Tax
Revenue and Payments Services
Guildford Borough Council
Millmead House
Millmead
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 4BB

Tel: 01483 444864
Fax: 01483 444866
Email: ctax@guildford.gov.uk