Guide to Council Tax Benefit

Council Tax is the way you help pay for local services we provide. Each Council sets the level of Council Tax in its own area, but the amount you pay depends on the value of your property.

Council Tax assumes there are two or more adults, aged over 18 occupying the property.

However, there are discounts, exemptions, reliefs and benefits available to reduce the amount you pay. The following leaflets are available. Please download a copy or ask for a leaflet if you think you would qualify.

What is Council Tax Benefit?

Council Tax Benefit is help towards your Council Tax.

Anyone who has to pay Council Tax who is on a low income can claim, regardless of whether they are retired, unemployed, or in full or part-time work. However there is a capital limit of £16,000, which applies in most cases, unless you are in receipt of Guarantee Pension Credit.

Eligible Council Tax

The eligible Council Tax is the the gross amount you should pay, minus any reliefs, discounts or exemptions.

How do I make a claim?

An application form can be requested by writing to us, by telephoning 0115 907 1010, by visiting one of the Customer Service offices or you can contact us by email at: benefits@erewash.gov.uk or download a copy. If you are Owner Occupiers will only need to complete the Council Tax Benefit Application Form and if you rent you will need the Housing and Council Tax Benefit Application Form.

Please read the form carefully before completing. Every question on the form must be answered, and you must provide all the evidence necessary. If you fail to do so, you will be asked to provide further information and this will lead to a delay in your claim being processed.

If you are an Owner Occupier, a Council Tax Benefit application form is all you need to complete. If you live in rented accommodation you will need to complete a joint Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit application form.

If you are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit you can complete a form issued by the Job Centre Plus or Pension Service.

Telephone applications

You are now able to complete an application for Benefit over the phone.

When you call, our staff will take your details and make an appointment for a suitable time to call you back. They will also tell you what information you will need at hand when they call back.

Your details will be entered directly onto your application form and at the end of the call you will be advised if you qualify for Benefit, and if so what evidence you will need to supply to complete your application.

What date will my entitlement start?

If you are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit, and have made a claim with us within one calendar month of the start of your benefit, any Council Tax Benefit will be paid from the Monday following the start of your Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit claim. All other claims start from the Monday following the date your claim is received by this office.

If you wish your claim to be backdated, you must give the date you wish it to begin, and reasons for your delay in claiming. You have to demonstrate 'good cause' for not making a claim at an earlier date. Good cause must be demonstrated for the whole of the period you are requesting the backdate. Backdating limit is 6 months for those aged under 60.

If you are 60 years old or over, your claim will automatically be backdated 3 months from your date of claim, providing you meet the conditions of entitlement throughout the period. There is no need to demonstrate 'good cause' in these cases.

Please bear in mind that you have to be resident in the property to receive Council Tax Benefit, however in certain circumstances discounts, exceptions and benefit can be awarded whilst you are absent away from home.

How will my benefit be calculated?

Any entitlement to Council Tax Benefit will be based on the eligible Council Tax. If you are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or Guarantee Pension Credit, you will receive maximum Council Tax Benefit which will be 100 per cent of the eligible Council Tax minus any Non-Dependant deductions. All other claims are ' means tested' which takes into account all income and capital.

If you wish see if you would qualify for Housing Benefit you can enter your details in our online Benefits Calculator (opens in a new window) (opens in a new window). Alternatively contact the office for advice.

Income

All income is assessed on a weekly basis. If you or your partner have "earned income" (that is, wages, salary or profits from a business), deductions are made for Tax, National Insurance and half of any pension contributions made.

Certain categories of income are "disregarded" in whole or in part for example Disability Living Allowance, Family Maintenance and after 2nd November 2009 Child Benefit. These disregards have the effect of increasing your entitlement to benefit by reducing the "Assessed Income" on which your benefit is calculated.

Capital

If you or your partner are under 60 and have capital of between £6,000 and £16,000, the Government Regulations require that we assume a notional income of £1 per week for every £250 (or part £250) in value. This will be shown as "Capital Income" on any Benefit Notification.

If you or your partner are 60 or over and have capital of between £10,000 and £16,000, the Government Regulations require that we assume a notional income of £1 per week for every £500 (or part £500) in value. This will be shown as "Capital Income" on any Benefit Notification.

Applicable amounts

Applicable amounts are the assumed living costs of individual households for the purposes of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Schemes. These amounts are specified in Government Regulations.

They consist of personal allowances related to age and marital status, and various premiums for special circumstances such as disability, pensionable age, or a family.

Calculation of your Council Tax Benefit

The maximum entitlement to Council Tax Benefit is 100 per cent of your Council Tax after any relief, exemptions and discounts. Deductions are made from the maximum benefit in respect of non-dependants, except your partner.

All persons over 18 years of age living with you as part of your family are assumed to make a contribution to your housing costs, and therefore a deduction, known as a Non-Dependant Deduction, is made from the maximum entitlement to Council Tax Benefit in respect of each of those persons.

The Non-dependant's income is used to determine the level of deduction made from your benefit. Failure to provide details will result in the highest level of deduction. The lowest level of deduction is made in respect of non-dependants on State benefits.

Summary of deductions
For each non-dependent:
Level of gross weekly income	Deduction per week from benefit
Earning less than £178.00	£2.30
Between £178.00 & £305.99	£4.60
Between £306.00 & £381.99	£5.80
More than £382.00	£6.95
Others 18 or over	£2.30
In receipt of Pension Credit and not in remunerative work, Income Support /Job Seekers Allowance (income based) or Employment Support Allowance (Income Related)	nil
In receipt of Pension Credit and in remunerative work	nil

There is no deduction for non-dependants over 18 on a Youth Training Scheme, or those on Income Support or Job Seeker's Allowance (income based).

No deductions are made in respect of non-dependants if you, or your partner are registered blind, in receipt of Attendance Allowance or the Care Component of Disability Living Allowance.

If your assessed income is greater than your applicable amounts, then 20 per cent of the excess is deducted from your maximum entitlement (after any non-dependant deductions as above).

If your assessed income is less than your applicable amounts, or you are on Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), Employment Support Allowance (Income Related) or Guarantee Pension Credit, you are entitled to maximum Council Tax Benefit, less any non-dependant deductions.

Download the Guide to Housing and Council Tax Benefit leaflet

How is Council Tax Benefit paid?

Any entitlement to Council Tax Benefit will be credited to your Council Tax account and you will be advised

What is Second Adult Rebate?

Second Adult Rebate is designed to help Council Tax payers who have another adult or adults living with them, who cannot be expected to make a contribution to the Council Tax charge because their income is low.

Under the normal benefit scheme, a Council Tax payer in this situation might be worse off because they would be assessed as a single claimant but would have deductions made from benefit in respect of each non-dependant adult. Please ask for the Guide to Second Adult Rebate.

Normally, anybody who claims Council Tax Benefit will automatically be assessed for Second Adult Rebate if they are eligible, and will be granted the higher amount.

The levels of Second Adult rebate are as follows;
Level of rebate	Conditions
100%	If the second adult is a Student
25%	If the second adult is on Income Support (Income Based), Pension Credit or Employment Support Allowance (Income Related)
15%	If the second adult’s gross weekly income is less than £175
7.5%	If the second adult’s gross weekly income is between £175 and £227.99

Discretionary Housing Payments

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) help customers who receive Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit and are not getting the full rent or Council Tax paid.

Payments made under the new scheme are not intended to be payments of benefit. To receive an award you must:

Be getting Housing Benefit to receive extra help to pay the rent (but not help with the cost of service charges not payable by Housing Benefit, such as fuel charges).
Be getting Council Tax Benefit to receive extra help to meet your Council Tax liability.
Satisfy the DHP Officer that you require extra help with housing costs i.e. rent and/or Council Tax.

We only have so much money per year to pay out awards of Discretionary Housing Payments, therefore how the money is spent throughout the year will be carefully monitored.

As part of the claim process you will be asked to provide details of your weekly out goings and where necessary, provide proof of some items of expenditure.

In order to claim extra claim with your housing costs (Rent and/or Council Tax), please contact us if you require a DHP application form.

Changes of circumstances

If your family's circumstances or income change, it is your responsibility to tell us. Tell us immediately, as it may affect your benefit, and any resulting overpayment will be reclaimed from you.

If you knowingly give us false information, the money will be reclaimed and you may be prosecuted. A change of circumstances can only be backdated in your favour for one calendar month, however if the change results in an overpayment of benefit, we will amend your claim from the actual date of charge.

To give you an idea of the changes we need to know about, these are some of the main things you should tell us:

If anyone stops or starts getting Income Support or Pension Credits
If anyone's income or savings change
If anyone stops or starts work
If anyone stops or starts getting benefit, for example Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Tax Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance
If anyone comes to live in your home
If anyone already living in your home leaves
If anyone stops or starts full-time education, for example, if a child leaves school, or you stop getting child benefit for one of your children
If you start to let part of your home to someone who pays you rent or board
If you or your partner go into hospital for more than 4 weeks
You are going away from home for more than 4 weeks.

Overpayments of Council Tax Benefit

If you are paid too much Council Tax Benefit, the overpayment can be recovered from yourself. Any overpayments will be added back to your Council Tax account. However if the overpayment is as a result of an official error, it may be deemed not recoverable. Like all decisions made by us, you have the right to appeal against it.

How we are doing

You can download:

How to appeal

If you disagree with the decision you can:

Ask us to explain the decision
Ask us to revise (change) the decision
Appeal against the decision.

If you wish to appeal against a decision we have made, you must do so in writing within one calendar month of the date we notified you of the decision. You must also state why you think the decision is wrong.

Whenever you ask us to explain our decision, or to revise it we will check all parts of your claim and advise you of how we came to the decision. In doing so, if we find anything wrong with the decision we made, we will write to you with the decision and your right of appeal will start again.

If we do not change the decision in your favour we will send the case to the Appeal Service which is an independent body who will look at each individual appeal in an impartial manner.