Council Tax

You may be able to apply for a council tax discount or exemption if you are a registered, full-time student on an award-bearing programme, studying at least 21 hours per week and attending for at least 24 weeks within the academic year. You can find out more information on council tax discounts and exemptions on the Scottish Government’s website here.  

Students living within Glasgow City Council

Students living with non-students

If you live in the area covered by Glasgow City Council, you can choose to send your student status information electronically through your Pegasus account. To do this, log into your Pegasus account, go to the ‘Personal’ tab and select ‘Request Status Letter’. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the option to share your information electronically with Glasgow City Council. Once you have done this, please ensure that you still complete the online Glasgow City Council Exemption Application. This allows the Council to link your student status to your address. Please note that your council tax letter and the electronic sharing option will only become available once the official start date of your programme has passed.

Properties where all occupants are students

If everyone living in your property is a full-time student, but no council tax exemption currently exists for the property, you will instead need to complete the Student Property Exemption Application.

For this type of application, you should not submit the information electronically through your Pegasus account. Instead, you should download the council tax letter from Pegasus to your computer and upload this as part of your application. All students within the property must also do the same. Please note that your council tax letter will only become available once the official start date of your programme has passed.

Students living outside Glasgow City Council

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can download a council tax letter by logging into your Pegasus account, going to the ‘Personal’ tab and clicking ‘Request Status Letter’. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Request letter’, and this will download onto your computer. You can then upload this as part of your council tax exemption application to your local authority. Please note that the letter will not be available until the official start date of your programme.

You can find information below on how to apply for council tax exemption in commonly used local authorities below:

Argyll and Bute Council

East Dunbartonshire Council

East Renfrewshire Council

Inverclyde Council

North Lanarkshire Council

Renfrewshire Council

South Lanarkshire Council

West Dunbartonshire Council

Why isn’t my council tax letter available on Pegasus?

You will not have access to a council tax letter if:

• your programme has not yet reached its official start date
• you have not completed registration
• you live in University Halls of Residence
• you are registered on a part-time programme
• you are registered on a non-graduating programme (including exchange and pre-sessional students – see below)
• your student status is “completing” (see below)

Council tax exemption/discount is granted at the council’s discretion, and eligibility is decided by the council. The University can provide confirmation of your student status in line with council tax regulations.

To request confirmation of your student status, please contact the relevant Student Business team for your Faculty.

If you are not eligible for a council tax letter or exemption, you should contact your local council to ask whether any other discounts may apply based on your circumstances.

Completing students

Postgraduate Research

Council tax regulations require Postgraduate Research students to be undertaking full-time study of at least 21 hours per week to be eligible.

Your Supervisor must confirm that you meet the criteria to request a council tax letter. If incorrect information is provided, this may result in a penalty or, in some circumstances, prosecution.

If eligible, the University and councils apply a cut-off date of the initial thesis submission date. Letters will not normally be issued beyond this date unless a resubmission decision is approved. Minor amendments are not included within this exception.

To request a council tax letter, complete the request form here. This will be sent to your Supervisor for approval. Please ensure you enter the correct Strathclyde email address for one of your Supervisors, otherwise the request will not be sent.

Postgraduate Taught

Council tax regulations require Postgraduate Taught students to be in full-time attendance for at least 21 hours per week, and attending for at least 24 weeks within the academic year, to be eligible.

Students who receive a resit decision at Exam Board do not meet these criteria.

Your Adviser of Studies must confirm that you meet the criteria to request a council tax letter. If incorrect information is provided, this may result in a penalty or, in some circumstances, prosecution.

You can request a council tax letter by contacting the relevant Student Business team for your Faculty.

Exchange students

If you are studying at Strathclyde on exchange from another institution where you are studying full-time, the council will normally require written confirmation from both institutions.

You can contact the relevant Student Business team for your Faculty to request your council tax letter.

Pre-sessional students

If you are registered on a pre-sessional programme and meet the full-time study requirements (at least 21 hours per week and attendance for 24 weeks within the academic year), please contact the relevant Student Business team for your Faculty to request a council tax letter.