Council tax benefit: frequently-asked questions

Council tax benefit is intended to help people with the cost of council tax. It can be paid in addition to any discounts that you may also be eligible to claim.

To be eligible to claim council tax benefit you must be liable to pay council tax in respect of the dwelling and be resident at the subject dwelling.

Can I claim council tax benefit?

You can claim council tax benefit if you are liable to pay council tax for the property that you live at.

Normal council tax benefit is based on yours and your partner’s income, capital and circumstances.

There is another type of council tax benefit that you may be able to get instead of normal council tax benefit; this is known as second adult rebate.

Second adult rebate is based on the income and circumstances of other adults (not including your partner) who live in your household.

This may be awarded if your income is too high to get normal council tax benefit but another adult in your household has a low income, for example, receives Income Support.

The maximum second adult rebate that can be awarded is restricted to 25% of your total council tax bill.

Where you have applied for both normal council tax benefit and second adult rebate we will automatically work out and award whichever benefit results in the highest award. However, you can apply for second adult rebate only if you wish.

How do I make a claim?

If you are also claiming Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance or Minimum Income Guarantee, the Department for Work and Pensions will include a housing/council tax benefit claim form in the claim pack they send you. You need to complete the form and send it directly to us at the address shown at the bottom of the page.

You can download a housing/council tax benefit form or you can contact us on 0161-909 6502 and we will send you a claim form. Alternatively, email us at revenues@salford.gov.uk providing your postal address. You can also collect a claim form from the Benefit Office at Salford Civic Centre in Swinton, or if you are a council tenant from your local housing office.

It is important that you complete and return the claim form to us at the address shown as soon as possible. If you do not have all the proof that we have asked for on the form straight away you should still to return it to us,stating either on the form or a separate sheet of paper when the other information will be provided. If you delay sending the form to us, you could lose benefit.

It is very important that you complete each section on the form and tick each yes and no box. If the form is not completed properly we will have to return it to you and it will delay your claim.

If you need help to complete the form please contact us on the phone number shown on the form.

Can I claim council tax benefit if I work?

Yes. You can claim council tax benefit if you work and receive a low income.

We will need to see proof of your earnings. You will need to provide:-

Your last five payslips, if you are paid weekly
Your last two payslips, if you are paid monthly
If you have only recently started work and not yet been paid, ask your employer to provide an estimate of your gross earnings, tax and National Insurance deductions. We will use this information to calculate your council tax benefit until you receive actual details of your earnings.

Can I claim if I am self- employed?

Yes, you can claim council tax benefit if you are self-employed and receive a low income from your business. You will need to send us your most recent accounts with your claim form if possible, and we will also send you our self-employed information sheet to complete.

What proof of eligibility do I need to provide?

You need to provide proof of all income and capital in respect of yourself and your partner. You also need to provide proof of your identities and National Insurance numbers. The claim form will advise you what you can provide as proof.

Does the amount of capital I have affect my claim?

Maybe. It will depend on the amount of capital you and your partner have as to whether it will affect your benefit entitlement.

If you and your partner have joint capital of more than £16,000 you will not normally be able to get council tax benefit
You can have up to £6,000 capital before it affects your benefit entitlement
Income of £1 for every £250 between £6,000 and £16,000 is taken into account when we work out entitlement to benefit
Income of £1 for every £250 between £3,000 and £16,000 is taken into account when we work out entitlement to benefit
Capital includes cash, current accounts, other bank/building society/post office accounts, unit trusts, ISA’s, TESSAs, National Savings Certificates, shares, premium bonds and property (other than the home you live in) or land you own

What happens if I have somebody aged 18 or over other than my partner living with me?

Your benefit may be reduced if you have somebody else aged over 18 other than your partner living with you, such as a grown up son or daughter.

The amount that will be deducted will depend on their income and circumstances.

How much council tax benefit can I get?

You may be able to get council tax benefit for the full amount of council tax that you have to pay. This will depend on your income and whether you have other adults (other than your partner) living in your household.

When will benefit be paid from?

Your benefit will usually start from the Monday after we receive your claim form. It is important that you return your claim form to us as soon as possible as any delay may result in you losing benefit.

Can my claim be backdated?

You can ask for your claim to be backdated for up to 52 weeks from the date you make the request, which must be in writing.

You must have a good reason for not applying earlier. You can request backdated benefit on the housing/council tax benefit claim form or you can request a backdate request form by phoning the number shown at the bottom of the page or by writing to the benefit office with your details.

How long is council tax benefit paid for?

Council Tax benefit is awarded for as long as entitlement remains. From time to time we will need to confirm details of your claim, we will contact you where this is neccessary or we will arrange to visit.

How will council tax benefit be paid?

Council Tax benefit is awarded for as long as entitlement remains.

This will reduce the amount that you have to pay and we will send you a new council tax bill to advise you how much you have to pay.

What happens when you receive my claim?

When we receive your claim form we will check the form and the proof that you have provided.

If we have all of the information we need to decide your claim, we will process it as quickly as possible and inform you of the outcome of your claim.

If we need you to provide more information we will write to you again. You will have 28 days to provide us with any additional information that we request or for you to advise us when the information will be available.

What happens if I do not agree with your decision?

When we have decided on your claim, we will send you a notification letter, which will advise you of the outcome. The letter will advise you of all of the details we have used to work out your benefit entitlement and it is important that you check that the information is correct. You must let us know within one month if you do not agree with the decision we have made in your case. See Appeals.

What happens if my circumstances change?

It is very important that you let us know immediately if you have a change in your circumstances as you may receive too little or too much benefit.

It is an offence not to tell us about any change of circumstance that affects your benefit. We may take court action against you and if we pay you too much benefit, you will probably have to pay it back.

You can tell us about any changes by writing to the Benefit Service at the address shown at the bottom of this page or you can use the change of circumstances form that was sent to you with your council tax benefit award notice. It is important that you provide details of the change, the date that the change occurred and proof where appropriate.

Examples of the type of changes that you need to report are as follows:

If you change your address
If you or your partner go into hospital
If you or your partner’s income or savings increase or decrease

including:

Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance stops
Starting work or changing employer
If the amount or type of state benefit changes
If wages increase or decrease
If private pension increases
If Tax Credit is awarded or amount of award changes
Changes affecting people who live with you including:
- If someone comes to live with you or if someone leaves your household
- If the income or circumstances of someone living with you change (e.g. they start work or their Income Support ends)
- If you stop getting Child Benefit for someone

This list only provides some examples of the type of changes that may occur and is not exhaustive. It is important that you check with the Benefit Service on the phone number shown below if you are unsure if a change will affect your entitlement to council tax benefit.

I have started work, what do I need to do?

If you are receiving Income Support or Income Based Jobseeker's Allowance, you should notify the date you started work to both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Benefit Service. Details of the phone number and address for the Benefit Office are shown at the bottom of this page.

Extended payment-If you have been on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement allowance for 26 weeks or more, immediately before starting work you may be entitled to an extended payment of council tax benefit.

This means that for the first four weeks after you start work you will continue to receive the same amount of council tax benefit that was in payment before starting work.

If you wish to claim an extended payment you need to advise the Jobcentre, Social Security Office or council within eight days of your Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance ceasing. It is important that you do this as we cannot backdate a claim for an extended payment.

You may also be able to get an extended payment of housing benefit to cover your rent.

Making a further claim for council tax benefit after starting work

You may still be entitled to council tax benefit after you start work if you have a low income. You will need to fill in a new council tax benefit form providing details of your new circumstances.

Where you have not yet received your first wage from your new employer you will need to ask them to provide us with details of your likely gross earnings and tax and national insurance deductions so that we can estimate your earnings to calculate your council tax benefit entitlement.

Where you have claimed an extended payment and/or lone parent run-on and make a further claim for council tax benefit within seven days of starting work and provide the information that we need to determine your claim we will fast track your claim to ensure that payments of council tax benefit payments are continuous.

When you have received your first wage slips you will need to send them to the Benefit Office so that we can check details of your actual earnings and we may need to amend your claim again.

Can I get any extra help in paying my council tax?

If you do not qualify for full council tax benefit, it may mean that you have to pay something towards your council tax.

You could apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment to help towards these payments.

If you think that you may qualify for extra help, please put your reasons in writing to us and we will consider your case.

You will need to provide us with full details of why you feel you should get extra help for example details of any medical conditions and family circumstances you feel should be taken into account.

We may need to ask you to provide additional information and/or evidence to support your application.

How can I report suspected benefit fraud?

The council are committed to ensuring that people receive their correct entitlement to housing/council tax benefit and every effort will be made to deal with claims as quickly as possible.

However, it is important that people who are claiming benefit to which they are not entitled are reported to the Benefit Service so that the appropriate action can be taken against them.

If you are aware of or think that somebody may be claiming benefit fraudulently you can contact us on the Benefit Fraud Hotline 0800 328 6340, which is available 24/7. We will treat any information that you give us as confidential.

Contacting Salford City Council's benefits service

Address for writing regarding benefits claims and payments:-

Housing & Council Tax Benefits Administration
Salford City Council
Chorley Road
Swinton
Salford
M27 5AW

Call: 0161 909 6506 (if you live in a council property)
or: 0161 909 6504 (if you live in a private property)

email revenues@salford.gov.uk.

This page was last updated on 21 October 2008

Email this page to a friend

Bookmark this page using:

Find out more about social bookmarking.

These sites allow you to store, tag and share links across the internet. You can share these links both with friends and people with similar interests. You can also access your links from any computer you happen to be using.

If you come across a page on our site that you find interesting and want to save for future reference or share it with other people, simply click on one of these links to add to your list.

All of these sites are free to use but do require you to register. Once you have registered you can begin bookmarking. Each of the sites works slightly differently so use the links below to find out which service best suits your needs.

Find out more about social bookmarking at Wikipedia.

Hide this information.

RSS feeds

Salford City Council, Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Salford M27 5AW

0161-794 4711