Expenses
When we calculate housing benefit and council tax support the expenses that we take into account are your liability to pay rent and/or council tax. However, in addition, if you provide proof of the following expenses we can disregard part of your income because of these expenses.
The expenses we can take into account are:-
Childcare expenses
If you and your partner work over 16 hours per week and you are paying childcare costs to a childminder or childcare facility (e.g. after school club, nursery, playschool, out of school scheme) that is registered with OFSTED we can disregard earnings of up to £175.00 per week for one child and up to £300.00 per week for two or more children. This disregard applies to children under 15 years old, or under 16 years old for a disabled child.
If only one member of a couple works and the other is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Employment and Support Allowance, you may also qualify to offset this expense as a deduction - contact us for more information.
We will need you to provide proof of the charge(s) that you pay. Please either contact us for a form or download one from this page.
Your payments into a private or occupational pension scheme
If you pay into a private pension scheme either through your employer or independently half of the amount of your contributions may be off set against your earnings. You will need to provide original documentation to confirm the amount you pay.
Student Grant
If you make payments to support a student that have been assessed by the Student Finance Direct office of your Local Education Authority these payments can be off set against your income. We will need to see proof of the payments you make.