This website uses cookies to give you the best online experience. If you'd like to know more please read our cookie policy
If you have no income, or are already on state related benefits, you may be missing out on benefits that you are entitled to.
To get an estimate of what benefits and tax credits you may be able to claim and also find out how your benefit would be affected by a change in circumstances (e.g. if you find work). Please visit www.gov.uk online.
If you are struggling to pay your rent and fall into the following three categories, you could claim Housing Benefit:
You can apply for Housing Benefit whether you're unemployed or working. Housing Benefit can pay for part or all of your rent. How much you get depends on your income and circumstances:
Are you paying the right amount of Council Tax? You could be eligible for discounts on your bill.
If you are struggling to pay your Council Tax bill and fall into the following categories, you may be eligible to claim Council Tax Reduction:
If you have certain facilities in your home because you have, or someone who lives with you has a disability, you may be entitled to a reduction in your Council Tax bill. In this context 'Disabled person' means a person who is substantially and permanently disabled. They can be an adult or a child and do not have to be responsible for paying the Council Tax bill. This reduction means your property will be considered in the valuation band immediately below the actual band shown in the valuation list. You may be eligible:
If you are the only adult living in a property which is your sole or main residence you are entitled to a discount of 25%.
People in the following groups do not count towards the number of adults living at a property:
The bill for a property where one of two residents is not counted will be the same as that for a property with only one resident, i.e. you will receive a 25% discount.
Students
Students who are exempt from the Council Tax charge can fall into one of four different categories:
To qualify for an exemption a spouse, civil partner (or those living together as though they were civil partners) or a dependant of a student must be a British citizen, and not be prevented by immigration regulations from either taking paid employment or from claiming benefits whilst living in the UK.
Working Tax Credits are based on the hours you work and get paid for, or expect to be paid for. It doesn't matter if you're employed or self-employed, but unpaid work doesn't count as work when claiming tax credits. Check if your work can help you qualify for Working Tax Credit.
For more information go to www.hmrc.gov.uk.
If you or your partner have a disability and usually work 16 hours or more a week, you could get extra Working Tax Credit. This is called the 'disability element'.
For more information go to www.hmrc.gov.uk.
To calculate if you may be entitled to Working Tax Credits please visit www.hmrc.gov.uk.
You could get Child Tax Credit for each child you're responsible for if they're:
You don't need to be working to claim Child Tax Credit.
You get money for each child that qualifies and Child Tax Credit won't affect your Child Benefit. To find out more please visit www.gov.uk.
How much you get depends on your circumstances - you can use the tax credit calculator to work this out. This can be found at www.gov.uk.
If you are a carer you may be able to get Carers Allowance to help you look after someone with substantial caring needs.
You don't have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.
You need to be aged 16 or over and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for them.
Further information on Carers Allowance can be obtained by visiting www.gov.uk.
If you're caring for someone for at least 20 hours a week, you could get Carer's Credit. This is a National Insurance credit that helps build your entitlement to the basic State Pension and additional State Pension. It makes sure there are no gaps in your National Insurance record. Please visit www.gov.uk for more information.
For further advice and support for carers and the people they care for please contact Carers UK on 0808 808 7777, Wednesday and Thursday, 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm alternatively you can visit their website at Carers UK.
If you are an overnight carer and the person you care for is in a Housing Association property and under occupying the property, they may be able to have a bedroom allocated for you.