Uprated council tax reduction figures apply from schemes beginning on or after 1 April 2026

The Welsh Ministers have laid the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 before Senedd Cymru for approval by resolution¹. The regulations come into force on 23 January 2026 and apply in relation to a council tax reduction scheme made for a financial year beginning on or after 1 April 2026¹. They amend the Council Tax Reduction Schemes and Prescribed Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2013 and the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Default Scheme) (Wales) Regulations 2013, made under section 13A(4) and (5) of, and Schedule 1B to, the Local Government Finance Act 1992¹.

The regulations uprate figures used to calculate whether a person is entitled to a council tax reduction and, if so, the amount¹. These cover non-dependant deductions, which adjust the maximum reduction taking into account adults in the dwelling who are not the applicant's dependants, and the applicable amount, against which an applicant's income is compared¹. Among the substitutions set out in the regulations are the following¹:

The regulations also add new disregards covering payments under the Ministry of Defence Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Financial Recognition Scheme and payments under miscarriage of justice schemes that have effect under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, plus extra-statutory payments made for similar purposes¹. At the time the regulations were made there were three such miscarriage of justice schemes: the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service in England and Wales and equivalent schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland¹. Further amendments ensure particular payments are disregarded for non-dependant deductions and an applicant's capital¹.

Three new categories are inserted into the list of persons not to be treated as not resident in Great Britain¹. The first covers a person residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem immediately before 23 June 2025 who left as a consequence of the escalation in violence between Israel and Iran which commenced in June 2025¹. The second covers people with leave to enter or remain, a right of abode, or who do not require leave, where they were residing in a country or territory when His Majesty's Government advised British nationals to leave or arranged their evacuation¹. The third covers people granted leave under immigration provisions sanctioned by His Majesty's Government as safe and legal humanitarian immigration routes¹.

Other amendments concern the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, which provides entitlements, leave and pay for employees with responsibility for children receiving neonatal care¹. The regulations also amend the definitions of "pensioner" and "person who is not a pensioner" to disregard any award of universal credit to which regulation 60A of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 applies, and remove the need to consider habitual residence for an individual already receiving universal credit¹.

Why it matters for households

The uprated figures apply to schemes made for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2026, so they affect the reductions calculated under Welsh billing authorities' schemes from that financial year¹. The applicable amount and non-dependant deduction figures feed into the calculation of entitlement and the maximum reduction, so the amounts used in those calculations change for the 2026 financial year¹. The new disregards mean the specified payments are not counted when entitlement is worked out, and the residence amendments affect who can be included in a scheme¹. The regulations apply in Wales; no equivalent changes for England, Scotland or Northern Ireland are set out in the document¹.

What happens next

The draft regulations were laid before Senedd Cymru under section 13A(8) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for approval by resolution of Senedd Cymru¹. They come into force on 23 January 2026 and apply to schemes made for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2026¹. A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and is published on www.gov.wales¹.