Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit Calculator

Fill out this simple form for an instant on-line estimate - this calculation is only an estimate and is based on the information you supply.

For a full evaluation make a formal claim asap. Usually Benefit / Support will only start from the Monday after the Council receive your form.

Preliminary Step

This step is only for a claimant (or partner) in receipt of Universal Credit - all others go straight to Step 1

If "Yes" then please skip the income steps 7, 8 and 9.

Step 1: Rent

This section requests rent details for a Housing Benefit Claim (skip to Step 2 if you are on Universal Credit or just want help with your Council Tax bill).
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Step 2: Council Tax

This section requests your Council Tax details (skip to step 3 if you do not want help with your Council Tax bill)
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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/CTS.
and .
and , if applicable.

You get Attendance or Constant Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, 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 DLA (middle/high rate) or the PIP daily living component or Attendance / 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.
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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.
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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.
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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 Support 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.
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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.
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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.
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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, students or members of the armed forces away on operations. 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 (working non-dependants may now be receiving Universal Credit as well). But skip this step if you (or your partner) is disabled due to blindness, or are receiving a DLA care / PIP living component or Attendance Allowance has been awarded.

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

(automatically calculated). The Welsh CTR figure is not displayed, but will be slightly higher.

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 For Council Tax Reduction a 20% of the "excess income" taper is deducted from the maximum award.
NB Non-dependant deductions are also taken off at this stage.

  

A cap may now be put on the total amount of Benefits you can get, one of which is Housing Benefit. To find out whether the Benefit Cap will be applied to you, go to www.direct.gov.uk/benefitcap. You will need to make a note of how much HB is shown here. No cap will apply to Council Tax Reduction.

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 2024 through March 2025 - Copyright www.ovaltech.ltd.uk