Council Tax
Under the reformed system, councils are required to design their own local Council Tax Reduction schemes, under which council tax bills will be reduced for certain categories of people, instead of paying out a virtual benefit to cover the cost of a standard bill. Schemes must be based on a claimant's income, or their status as the only adult in the property, and old-age pensioners must continue to receive at least the same reduction to their net council tax bill as they would have done under the "Council Tax Benefit" system. Frequently, councils have marketed these schemes as "council tax support", and continue to portray them as a payment rather than as a reduction in tax owed.