How to reduce your TV licence bill to nothing and save £169

YOUR TV licence is a legal permit that allows you to watch live television and some online streaming services in the UK.

Anyone who wants to watch live TV, including the BBC, ITV and Sky, must pay for a TV licence.

The Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee.

Last December it was announced that the government would raise the licence fee by 6.7%, in line with inflation, taking effect from April 2024.

This has brought the cost of a colour licence fee to £169.50 per year and a black and white licence fee to £57 per year.

It is a criminal offence to watch live TV without a licence and enforcement officers can carry out checks at your house if you do not pay.

This can lead to fines of up to £1,000 and if you dodge the fee you could face prosecution.

However, the rise in streaming services has meant it can be confusing for some households to figure out if they have to pay for a license or not.

You must have a TV licence to do the following:

• Watch or record live TV on any channel or service, such as Channel 4, ITV, BBC, SKY, Virgin or Freeview
• Use BBC iPlayer
• Watch live TV on any streaming service including Amazon Prime, ITV X, Channel 4 or YouTube.

You do not need a TV Licence to watch:

• Streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus
• On-demand TV through services like Amazon Prime Video
• Videos on websites like YouTube
• Videos or DVDs

However, if you are watching on-demand programmes on websites such as Amazon Prime and then switch over to a live programme the site is streaming you must have a license to do this.

It is worth noting that TV licences are per house not per person, meaning the £169.50 fee can be split between a household of multiple people.

However, this changes if you have separate tenancy agreements and you watch TV in your own room.

For example, if you live in a shared house and you watch TV in your bedroom and your housemate does not, then you will need your own license.

You can have one TV licence for the whole household if you either watch TV in a single shared area or have a joint tenancy agreement.

So, if you are confident that you will not be watching any live content from your home you do not have to pay a TV licence.

But it is worth being aware of the possible fines and charges if you change your mind.

If you are already paying for a licence you can cancel it and may also be eligible for a refund.

You can do this by visiting https://forms.tvlicensing.co.uk/.

Can you get a discount on your TV licence?

You can claim a free TV licence if you’re 75 or older and either receive Pension Credit yourself or live with a partner who gets Pension Credit.

You can apply for a free licence when you’re 74, but will still have to pay until the end of the month before your 75^th birthday.

You can apply for your free licence online or by calling 0300 790 6071.

You could also be eligible for a discounted TV licence if you live in residential care or sheltered accommodation, or if you’re registered blind.

If you live in sheltered accommodation or residential care and are over 60 or disabled you can get a licence for just £7.50.

Your housing manager should be able to check if you’re eligible and will apply for you.

If you’re registered blind, or live with someone who is, you’re in line for a 50% discount.

The licence must be in the name if the person registered blind, but if your existing licence is not in their name you can make an application to transfer it.

You can apply for the discount on the TV Licensing website.