Calculating Council Tax Benefit

• Income, for yourself and your partner
• Capital, for yourself and your partner
• The applicable amount, 'your needs'
• The income and capital for members of the household
• The amount of council tax payable

We will also take into account

• Whether you are single
• Whether you have children
• Whether you are over 60
• Whether you have a disability

Income

For council tax benefit purposes 'income' is money that you receive, not only from an employer but also from welfare benefits and any other sources.

For example

• Maintenance payments
• Money from friends
• Pensions/pension credits
• Tax/child tax credits
• Money from boarders
• Self employed earnings
• Bonuses
• Tips

We will also calculate a tariff income that is based upon the amount of capital you have.

If you or your partner are both aged under 60 and have capital between £6,000 and £16,000 we have to add £1 a week to the income we use to work out your benefit for each £250, or part of £250, of capital over £6,000. For example, if you have £6,001 we will add £1 a week.

If you or your partner are 60 years or over then we will disregard capital under £6,000 and we add £1 a week to the income we use to work out your benefit for every £500 of capital.

In certain cases part or all of a particular income will be disregarded. This depends upon both the type of income and your personal circumstances. You will need to provide a proof of earnings form (60 kb) with your application.

To view the form you need Adobe Reader on your computer. Download Adobe Reader.

Capital

For the purpose of council tax benefit capital includes your savings investments. If this totals more than £16,000 then you will not be able to get housing/council tax benefit unless you or your partner receive a pension credit.

Examples of capital are

• Money in bank, building society or post office accounts
• Stocks and shares
• ISA, Tessa
• Premium bonds
• Income/capital bonds
• Other land and property

As detailed in the earlier income section, a tariff income will be taken depending upon the amount of capital and you/your partner's age.

Applicable amount

Each year central government sets a figure called the applicable amount.

Your applicable amount will take into account the size and age of your family, your age and any extra needs you may have. It is made up of three parts

• Your personal allowance
• Personal allowance for the children in your family
• Premiums

Your personal allowances

The level of your personal allowance will depend upon your age and whether you have any children. There are eight different groups and these are split between working age and pensioners.

Working age

• A single person under 25 or a lone parent under 18
• A single person aged 25 or over or a lone parent aged 18 or over
• Couples where both are under 18
• Couples where one partner is over 18

Pension age

• A single person aged between 60 and 64
• A couple aged between 60 and 64
• A single person aged 65 or over
• A couple aged 65 or over

Personal allowances for children

If you are responsible for children, other than foster children,  then you will get an allowance for each child depending on their age.

Premiums

There are three different types of premiums that will be considered when calculating the applicable amount. These are

• Family premium, this applies if you have dependant children living with you. You will only get this once regardless of the number of children
  
• Disability premium, this is split into categories: disabled child premium, enhanced disability premium or severe disability premium
  
• Carer premium, this applies if either you or your partner are looking after a disabled person and receive invalid care allowance/carers allowance or would be entitled but for an overlapping benefit

Generally there are no limits to the number of different premiums you will be awarded. However, there are some circumstances where you will only receive the highest.

Non dependants

If you have any other adults over the age of 18 living with you such as grown up children, we may have to reduce the benefit we can pay you. The reduction to your benefit is called a non dependant deduction. The level of deduction will depend on the non-dependant's circumstances, for example whether they are working, the number of hours they work or their income. There are six different levels of deductions for housing benefit and four for council tax benefit. However, there are some circumstances when a deduction will not be taken.

For more information please go to the non dependant deductions page.

Council tax

When calculating your benefit we consider the eligible council tax. This is the amount of council tax you are liable to pay after any discounts or disabled relief. For more information please go to our council tax pages.

If you are not sure whether you wish to claim council tax benefit or second adult rebate you should complete the online benefit claim form and we will consider you for both.

Sometimes you will be eligible for both main council tax benefit and second adult rebate. In these cases you will be awarded whichever is the higher amount of benefit. This is called the 'better buy'.

Contact us

You can visit us at our One Stop Shops

Tel: 020 7525 1880 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)
souhousingbenefitsuk@liberata.com
The benefit section
Liberata (L B Southwark)
P.O.Box 782
Bromley
BR1 3YE