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• How do I claim?

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• How do I claim?

How do I claim?

If you claim Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, the JobCentrePlus usually ask if you wish to claim Council Tax Support.

They should send a form to us (the Benefits Section at your Local Authority) with the decision they have made regarding your claim for Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance. (You may contact us to make sure we have received it.)

If you have not claimed, or are not entitled to, Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, you can claim Council Tax Support if you are on a low income.

You will need to fill in a Claim Form for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit [.pdf 899KB].

If you need help filling in the form, please contact the Benefits Section on 01285 623035, or call into the main Council Offices in Trinity Road, or call into the Moreton Area Centre on any Tuesday for the Benefits Surgery.

Please send the completed form to us as soon as you can. Our address is on the form.

If you do not send it in quickly, you could lose some Council Tax Support.

What if I earn money from work?

You must send proof of the money you earn so we can work out your Council Tax Support.

If you work for an employer

You will have to send us:

• Your last 5 payslips if you are paid weekly
• Your last 2 payslips if you are paid monthly
• Your last 3 wage slips if you are paid two weekly

If you do not receive payslips, please ask your employer to fill in a Wage Certificate [.pdf 110KB]. 

If you have just started work, do not delay sending your form back. We will let you know what information we need, but if you can, please send the offer of employment letter from your employer.

If you are self employed

If you are self-employed, please send us your most recent accounts. If you cannot do this, get in touch with us for more advice and complete and return a Self-Employed Earnings Information Form [.pdf 86KB]

If you contribute to a pension scheme

If you pay money into a pension scheme, you need to send us proof of the payments you make.

If you have child care costs

You may be entitled to a weekly earned income disregard for part or all of your child care costs if you fulfil one of the following criteria:

• Lone parent in remunerative work (averages 16 hours or more per week);
• Couple if both are in remunerative work;
• Couple if one of them (claimant or partner) is in remunerative work and the other one is incapacitated (dependant on the circumstances of the incapacity)

and you or your partner pays one or more of the following to care for at least one child in your family (so long as that child satisfies the age condition – until the first Monday in September after their 15^th birthday (16^th birthday for a child qualifying for the disabled child premium):

• A registered child-minder, nursery or play scheme; or
• A child-minding scheme for which registration is not required (e.g. run by a school or local authority); or
• Child care approved for tax credit purposes; or
• Any other out-of-school-hours scheme provided by a school on school premises or by a local authority – but in this case only, the child must be aged 12 or more.

If you cannot send the information now

It will speed up your claim if you send proof of earnings, pension payments, income and capital at the same time as you send the form. If you cannot get hold of this information straight away, just send the form. If you don't, you will lose some Council Tax Support. But you must send this information as soon as possible. We cannot work out your Council Tax Support without it.

Couples

If you are married, or living with someone as if you are married to them, you only need to fill in one claim form.  However, you will need to tell us about the income and capital you both have.

When will I be paid?

How long it takes to work out your claim depends on:-

• How quickly you send in all the information
• How busy we are when you make your claim

We will send you a letter telling you how much Council Tax Support has been granted. You may also request information about how we worked out your Council Tax Support. Please check the information in this letter very carefully and if there is anything you think is wrong, you must tell us straight away.