Cornwall Council Tax Support could be cut for 19,000 households

If money is tight and the council tax bill is one of the ones you dread, the help you get with it could be about to shrink. Or it could stay exactly as it is. That is what Cornwall’s council is now asking residents to weigh in on, and it is the people of working age on low incomes who stand to feel the difference.

Cornwall Council has opened a consultation on possible changes to its Council Tax Support scheme for working-age households, and no decision has been made yet.

What Council Tax Support is

Council Tax Support helps people on low incomes with the cost of their Council Tax. Around 19,000 working-age households in Cornwall currently receive help through the scheme.

At the moment, the most support anyone of working age can get covers up to 75% of their bill.

The options on the table

The council is consulting on a range of options for that maximum level of support:

• Keep it at 75%
• Reduce it to 70%
• Reduce it to 65%
• Reduce it to 60%
• Reduce it to 55%

Pension-age residents would not be affected by any of the proposed changes.

Why the council is looking at it

The consultation comes as the council continues to face significant financial pressures, with the cost of providing key services rising.

The working-age scheme currently costs around £21 million a year. If nothing changes, that is expected to rise to around £22.2 million next year.

Councillor Adam Paynter, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for Finance, said: “Council Tax Support provides important help to thousands of households across Cornwall, and we know many of those receiving it are already managing on very limited incomes.

“At the same time, the Council is facing significant financial pressures, and we have to look carefully at where savings can be made.”

How to have your say

The consultation runs until Sunday 13 December 2026. You can take part on the council’s Let’s Talk Cornwall Council Tax Support page.

Feedback will be considered before Cabinet makes a recommendation to Full Council, which is expected to make the final decision in January.

“It’s important to stress that no decision has been taken, that’s why we’re carrying out this consultation,” Adam added. “We want to understand what the different options would mean for people before councillors decide what happens next, so I would encourage residents to take part and tell us what they think.”

Any changes that are agreed would take effect from 1 April 2027.