Students and spouses

Students living off campus in a property where all the residents are students can claim an exemption. This means you do not pay council tax.

You need to register for council tax to claim exemption if you live off campus. If no-one in your property has received a council tax bill, then you are not registered. One of the residents of the property should register for council tax. They can give the names of the other adults in the property.

Once you receive your bill you can apply for the exemption.

Applying for a student exemption

You need to have a MyGuildford account to apply for a student exemption.  If you do not have a MyGuildford account you can set one up.

Register or sign into your MyGuildford account (opens new window)

If you have not yet registered to access your council tax account online, there are more steps. You can then link your online council tax account to your MyGuildford.

To complete this step, you will need the following information:

• your council tax reference number - found on your latest bill
• your name exactly as it appears on your council tax bill
• your postcode
• if you have applied for Local Council Tax Support or have been named on a council tax support application, you will also need to provide your national insurance number. This provides an additional level of security

Once you have linked your council tax account, you can go to the 'account summary' screen. You will see a list of 'quick links' on the right-hand side. You need to select the 'apply for or cancel a disregard' link.

You will need to give the following information:

• the name of the person in the household who is a student
• the date that they became a student
• the name and address of the university or college that the student is attending
• a copy of a student exemption letter or certificate. You can get this from the college or university. You will need to upload this.