Article: New claims for council tax benefit Article Body What is council tax benefit? Council tax benefit is a government scheme administered by the council to help you pay your council tax. It is based on a number of things including your income and savings, your personal circumstances and the number of people living with you. If you would like to know how much council tax benefit or housing benefit you may be entitled to please use our online benefits calculator. You can also telephone our benefits helpline on 01226 774743. Second adult rebate Second adult rebate is council tax benefit for people who do not have a partner but who share their home with someone who is over 18; is on a low income; and does not pay them rent. Second adult rebate is based on the circumstances of the person who shares your home. Your income and savings will not have an effect on second adult rebate.If you can qualify for both council tax benefit and second adult rebate, we will award whichever benefit is the greater. If you are unsure whether you would be entitled to second adult rebate please ring our benefits helpline on 01226 774743. If you rent the home that you live in you may also qualify for housing benefit. Please see new claims for housing benefit. Who can claim? You can claim council tax benefit if you pay council tax whether you rent a property or own your own home. You can claim council tax benefit if you are out of work, or in work and earning a wage. You cannot claim council tax benefit if you have savings of over £16,000 unless you receive the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit. How to claim If you want to claim housing benefit as well as council tax benefit you only need to complete one claim form. You can get a claim form by: Downloading a copy of our benefit application form and the accompanying application form guidance notes. Telephoning: 01226 774743 Writing to: Benefits, Taxation and Welfare Rights Division, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG Calling into any Barnsley Connects office If you have claimed Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit, your details may already have been passed to us by the Department for Work and Pensions. If you are unsure whether you have applied for council tax benefit please ring us on 01226 774743. Please claim straight away and provide all the documents requested on the form, otherwise your claim will be delayed. Help to complete the form, is available at all our Barnsley Connects offices. If you are housebound or have restricted mobility, please ring us and we can ask an officer to visit you at home. What evidence is required? When you claim council tax benefit you need to provide us with original documents to support your application. The type of documents we require are shown on the benefit claim form and accompanying notes. Further details are available at evidence for your benefit claim. If you are self employed or a student please ring the benefits helpline on 01226 774743 for more information. How benefit is calculated When assessing council tax benefit entitlement we take into account the following things: your income your capital, savings and investments. Also property and land (other than your home) your personal circumstances, for example, your age, how many children you have, whether you are disabled, and whether you have other people living with you the amount of council tax you are required to pay If you are receiving Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance income-based or Pension Credit (guarantee credit) If you are receiving Income Support, Jobseeker's allowance income-based or Pension Credit (guarantee credit) you will usually be entitled to receive full benefit. However, if you have any non-dependants living with you (for example, an adult son, daughter or a parent), we may make a deduction from your benefit. See non-dependants for further details. If you are not in receipt of Income Support, Job Seeker's Allowance income-based or Pension Credit (guarantee credit) If you are not in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker's allowance income-based or Pension Credit (guarantee credit) we will work out your benefit based on the money that you have coming in, the savings and investments you have and your family circumstances. To help us work out your benefit, we need to see proof of all the income and capital you and your partner have. If you have any non-dependants living with you, you will also have to give us details of their income and savings. If you do not we will have to take the highest deduction from your benefit. Income includes such things as earnings, tax credits, pensions, benefits and maintenance that you may receive. Capital includes savings, investments, cash, as well as money held in a current account, stocks, shares and other property or land. For details on what evidence is needed in support of a claim for benefit, please see evidence for your benefit claim. Applicable Amount If you are not in receipt of Income Support, Job Seeker's Allowance income-based or pension credit (guarantee credit) your income will be assessed against an 'Applicable Amount'. This is a needs allowance made up of allowances and premiums based on your personal and family circumstances. These allowances and premiums are set by central government. The higher your net income is above your applicable amount, the less benefit you will be entitled to. Next steps When we have received all the information we need from you, we will work out how much benefit you are entitled to, write to you with the details and issue you with a revised council tax bill. This will normally take up to ten working days. See our service standards leaflet for further information. The date of claim for council tax benefit is usually the date your benefit application is received by us or the date you first told us you wished to make a claim. If you have reached the qualifying age for pension credit your claim can be automatically backdated for a maximum of three months. If you are of working age and you want your claim to be backdated you must tell us why you could not claim earlier. You must show that you had a good reason (known as 'good cause') for not applying sooner. Please see backdated council tax benefit for more information. If you think your benefit is wrong for any reason you can contact us to; ask us to explain our decision ask us to look again at the decision appeal to an independent tribunal For further details please see council tax benefit appeals. Method of payment Council tax benefit is paid straight to your council tax account. You will receive a bill showing any amount you have to pay after benefit has been awarded. If you are awarded benefit for the full amount of council tax you have to pay, you will receive a council tax bill showing a nil balance. Change of circumstances If your circumstances change you must tell us about it straight away. Please see council tax benefit change in circumstances for further details. Application forms Housing and council tax benefit application form Housing and council tax benefit application form - guidance notes Change of address form Related documents Service standards Legislation Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 Housing Benefit (persons that have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 Council Tax Benefit (persons that have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 Data Protection Act 1998 Contact details Enquiries and requests for application forms can be made as follows: email: benefitassessments@barnsley.gov.uk Telephone the Benefits helpline: 01226 774743 Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 4.30pm Fax: 01226 774733 By writing or sending documents to: Benefits, Taxation and Welfare Rights Division, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG By personal visit to any Barnsley Connects office Additional information To learn more about our compliments, comments and complaints process please see general complaints. Related services Council Tax Welfare Rights Barnsley Connects View your benefit details online Benefits calculator Other useful websites DirectGov-Money,Tax and Benefits Citizens Advice Bureau Data Protection We will use the information you give on the housing benefit application form and any supporting evidence you send us to process your claim for housing benefit. We may pass the information on to the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC, as allowed by law. We may also use the information to tell you what other welfare benefits you are entitled to. We may check the information provided by you, or information about you provided by someone else, against other information we hold. We may also ask other agencies, organisations, local authorities or government departments to give us information they have about you to make sure the information is accurate, to prevent or detect crime and to protect public funds.