Income and Capital and how it affects your
benefits
Housing and Council Tax benefit are means tested benefits and your income and savings
will effect how much benefit you may receive. If you or your partner have savings of over £16,000, you
will not be eligible for either of these benefits.
Please click on a link below to go directly to the information that you require.
Capital
Income
State Benefits
Income Earnings
Income Self Employment
Income
Other Income
Applicable
Amounts
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Capital
Benefits Regulations state how we must treat any capital or savings you have. This
includes land and property other than the house you occupy as well as stocks, shares, bonds, bank and
building society accounts, even if they are overdrawn.
The first £6,000 of your capital is disregarded for benefit purposes (ie: not counted
in the benefit calculation) but for every part or full amount of £250 you have above £6,000, we must
add £1.00 to your weekly income when we calculate your benefit. This is called “Tariff Income”.
The table below shows how any capital above £6,000 (but below the £16,000 limit
for Housing and Council Tax Benefit) is converted to a weekly “Tariff Income”
Tariff Income Table for Working Age claimants
Amount of Capital | Tariff Income | Amount of capital | Tariff Income |
£6000.01 - £6250.00 | £1 | £7500.01 - £7750.00 | £7 |
£6250.01 - £6500.00 | £2 | £7750.01 - £8000.00 | £8 |
£6500.01 - £6750.00 | £3 | £8000.01 - £8250.00 | £9 |
£6750.01 - £7000.00 | £4 | £8250.01 - £8500.00 | £10 |
£7000.01 - £7250.00 | £5 | £8500.01 - £8750.00 | £11 |
£7250.01 - £7500.00 | £6 | £8750.01 - £9000.00 | £12
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This follows the same pattern up to £16000.00.
If you are aged over 60, the first £6,000 of your capital is disregarded for benefit
purposes and the “Tariff Income” is worked out for every part or full amount of £500 you have above
£6,000.
The table below shows how any capital above £6,000 (but below the £16,000 limit
for Housing and Council Tax Benefit) is converted to a weekly “Tariff Income”.
Tariff Income Table for Elderly claimants
Amount of Capital | Tariff Income | Amount of Capital | Tariff Income |
£6000.01 - £6500.00 | £1 | £9000.01 - £9500.00 | £7 |
£6500.01 - £7000.00 | £2 | £9500.01 - £10000.00 | £8 |
£7000.01 - £7500.00 | £3 | £10000.01 - £10500.00 | £9 |
£7500.01 - £8000.00 | £4 | £10500.01 - £11000.00 | £10 |
£8000.01 - £8500.00 | £5 | £11000.01 - £11500.00 | £11 |
£8500.01 - £9000.00 | £6 | £11500.01 - £12000.00 | £12
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This follows the same pattern up to £16000.00.
We need to see proof of all capital held by either:
- Yourself.
- Your husband/wife/partner.
- Your non-dependants.
By capital we mean all your money - not just what you would
call “savings”. Examples of Capital that we must be told about include:
- Cash.
- Bank current accounts, deposit accounts and savings accounts.
- National Savings accounts.
- Giro bank accounts.
- Building Society accounts.
- Stocks and Shares.
- National Savings Income Bonds.
- Land and Buildings (Not the home you are living in).
- Money borrowed.
- Premium Bonds.
Acceptable forms of evidence include:
- Bank, Building Society or Post Office books.
- Full bank statements.
- Certificates for premium bonds.
- National Savings Certificates.
- ISAs.
- Stocks and Shares.
We need to see evidence of any interest or dividends you get on investments and
savings.
A SLIP FROM A CASHPOINT SHOWING THE OUTSTANDING BALANCE OF AN ACCOUNT
IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AS EVIDENCE. If you cannot provide proof for any reason, you should contact
the Benefits office immediately who will advise you what to
do, or arrange a visit if necessary.
REMEMBER - We need
to see the original documents, not photocopies. If you do not provide the documents we need, your Benefit
may be delayed.
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Income
State Benefits
If you are getting Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance income-based, we may
already have proof of this. If not, we are able to get proof directly from the Department for Work &
Pensions.
Where you, your husband/wife/partner or your non-dependants are getting any
other Social Security benefit, you will need to provide proof.
You can do this in a number of ways, but the best kinds of evidence are:
- Award notification letters that show the current rates of benefit.
If you are getting Child Benefit and cannot find you last award notification letter,
do not send your order book through the post. You can contact the Child Benefit
Unit on 0845 3021444 to ask for proof.
If the State Benefits are paid directly into a bank or building society account
and the award notification letter is not available, we can also accept current bank statements or passbooks
which show the payments of benefit received.
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Earnings
If you are employed we need to see evidence of your earned income and the earnings
of your husband/wife/partner or any non-dependants. The evidence you provide must cover either the last:
- 5 weeks (if paid weekly).
- 6 weeks (if paid fortnightly).
- 2 months (if paid monthly).
If you do not have the right
number of payslips send us what you have.
The best kinds of evidence are either:
- Wage slips (not handwritten) or
- A certificate of earnings which has been properly completed by the employer. You can obtain
one of these from the Benefits office or at the back of your application form.
Other acceptable forms of evidence are:
- A letter from the employer.
- A benefit award notification, which states the earnings.
The evidence should show:
- Name and address of the employer.
- Number of hours worked.
- Period covered (e.g.: week, month etc.).
- Gross income in year to date.
- Gross income for pay period.
- Income Tax deducted.
- National Insurance contributions deducted.
- Employees pension contributions.
- Method of payment e.g.
- Cheque.
- Cash.
- Transfer to bank account etc.
Self Employment
If you, your husband/wife/partner or your non-dependants are Self-Employed, we will
need to see either:
- A profit and loss summary for at least the last 6 months but preferably
12 months.
- A completed ancilliary form.
If any person is involved in more than one form of self-employment, we need to see
separate evidence for each type of work. You can also obtain a form by contacting the Benefits
Office.
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Other Income
You will need to provide proof of all other income received by yourself, your husband/wife/partner
or your non-dependants. The kind of proof that you can supply will depend on what kind of income it
is, as an example, the following are acceptable forms of evidence for other income:
- Working Tax Credit/Child Tax Credit - all your latest letters showing your
award.
- Last payment slips (for example a Works Pension).
- Award notifications (for example Court Orders or Child Support Agency notifications).
- Court Order award notices.
- Letters from absent parents confirming maintenance payments made.
This list does not cover every type of income but whatever you provide, we need
to see the original documents, not photocopies. If you are not sure about what proof
to send, you should contact the Benefits Office. If you do not provide the
documents we need your Benefit may be delayed.
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