Wyre Council

Benefits Calculator

Could you be entitled to Housing or Council Tax Benefits?

Our on-line benefits calculator (below) can give you an instant estimate of what you could claim, based on the information you supply.

If you want to make a formal claim you should do so as soon as possible as Housing and Council Tax Benefits are only usually paid from the Monday after the Council receives your claim form.

To obtain a claim form, please Contact Us.

If you are elderly or have difficulty completing application forms, you can request a 'home visit'. These visits can be arranged for anyone who needs one due to their particular circumstances.

Please note: the Web Benefits Calculator is a third party product and as such, we cannot guarantee its Accessibility, or the accuracy of the amount of benefit it calculates that you may be entitled to. The figures provided by the calculator should be treated as a guide only. If you have a disability and encounter difficulties in accessing these pages, please Contact Us and a member of staff will help you to work out an estimate of your entitlement.

Remember this calculation is an estimate based on the information you supply. For a full evaluation make a formal claim asap. Usually Benefit will only start from the Monday after the Council receive your form.

Step 1: Rent

This section requests rent and weekly LHA details for a Housing Benefit Claim ( skip Step 1 if you just want help with your Council Tax bill )
£
£

Step 2: Council Tax

This section requests your Council Tax details (skip this stage if you do not want help with your Council Tax bill)
£

Step 3: General

This section requests some General Information about you. If you answer "Yes" to this first question you can skip all the income questions (steps 7 to 11) because your income will be entirely disregarded for the purposes of this calculation.

Step 4: Capacities and Disabilities

This section looks for claimant (and partner) work capacity / health / disability issues or carer functions (if any) - otherwise skip this step. Should you be one of the few Permitted Work earners (on the higher monetary limit) then you are likely to be awarded substantial benefit so do apply asap. Be sure to enter any Employment and Support Allowance payments down at Step 8 as other unearned income. Where a partner gets the (higher) ESA support component, a couple might want to swap claim roles to increase potential HB/CTB.

and .

and , if applicable.


You get Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Invalid Vehicle Scheme or Motability, War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement, Severe Disablement Allowance, Incapacity Benefit (paid at the long term rate) or you are registered blind (or regained your sight in the last 28 weeks)?
Or you (the claimant only) have been off work sick for at least 52 weeks (28 if terminally ill) with medical evidence / sick notes ?
  1. You (and partner) get care component of Disability Living Allowance (middle/high rate) or Attendance Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance  (or partner blind and you get one), and
  2. No other adult lives in your home except your partner, other than disabled persons, your carer, landlord or other tenants,

Step 5: Children and Young Persons

This section requests details of your children and young persons for whom child benefit is paid.

Step 6: Single Lone Parent

This section requests details for single lone parents only - otherwise skip this step

Step 7: Earnings

This section requests your earnings details. As mentioned at Step 3, skip to step 12 if you are on Income Support, Income-based JSA, Income-related ESA or PGC. Give figures for the claimant (and partner). Include average earnings from employment and self employment. Be sure to enter weekly figures in the Weekly column only and Monthly figures in the Monthly column only.

£ Weekly

£ Monthly

Step 8: Unearned Income

This section requests your Unearned income figures for you (and your partner). Please make them weekly.
Do subtract a £20.00 disregard from the weekly rent received from each one.
£
£
£
We do not count War Pensions, charitable payments or payments made as a result of personal injury as income. So do not enter them below.
£

Step 9: Savings

This section requests your Savings, Investments and other assets (claimant and partner). You cannot qualify for any Housing Benefit or (most) Council Tax Benefit if you and any partner have £16,000 or more in savings and investments. The home you live in and personal possessions do not count.
£
£

Step 10: Childcare

This section requests your eligible childcare charges (up to £175 p/w for 1 child or £300 for more) and student expenses. Charges for registered or approved childcare can be deducted from the income of couples or lone parents in remunerative work or on Statutory Sick, Maternity, Paternity or Adoption Pay or a similar benefit (up to 28 weeks). Each parent must be working at least 16 hours a week - but couples still qualify if one works and the partner is incapacitated, in hospital or prison. N.B. costs of childcare in the child's own home by a close relative are excluded.
£
£

Step 11: Tax and Pension Credits

This section looks for Tax and Pension Credits - income for (nearly) everyone from the Government! They get added to claim income.
£
£

Step 12: Non Rent Paying Adults

This section looks for other adults who live with you but pay no rent (often grown-up children) - but don't count your partner or students. These so called "non-dependants" are assumed to be contributing to the household income so a deduction is made from any benefit for each one. So do enter the number of non-dependants in each of these Income Categories but skip this step if you (or your partner) is disabled due to blindness, or in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance care component or Attendance Allowance has been awarded.

That's all you need to do!   Click and let the program work it out.

(automatically calculated)

Tax / Pension Credits p/w

How your benefit is worked out. If the Total Applicable Amount is higher than Net Weekly Income, Maximum Benefit is awarded. But if Net Weekly Income is higher than the Total Applicable Amount, 65% of the "excess income" is deducted from Maximum HB to find the award. For Council Tax Benefit a 20% of the "excess income" taper is deducted from the maximum award. NB Non-dependant deductions are also taken off at this stage.

If the weekly amount of Housing Benefit is less than 50 pence then there is no award made.

  

Second adult rebate weekly CT Benefit. Alternative Council Tax Benefit is often called Second Adult Rebate. It is based on the income of the non-dependants. The program calculates if you are better off with a benefit award based on your circumstances or your non-dependants.

And finally you can use the browser Print button to launch a print or change your figures to calculate again or the whole lot.

Valid April 2012 through March 2013 - Copyright www.ovaltech.ltd.uk


Rate this page

Give us your feedback on this page!