Housing and council tax benefit calculator

Step 1: Rent / Local Housing Allowance

This section asks for rent and Local Housing Allowance (LHA) details for a housing benefit claim (skip this step if you just want help with your council tax bill).

If you need to work out your LHA, please use our LHA calculator - this link will open in a new window.

How much is your rent as stated on your tenancy agreement?
Do not include charges for ineligible services such as meals and heating.
Warning - the amount may be restricted for benefit purposes if you decide to make a claim.

If you are a private tenant (not local authority or housing association) enter your weekly LHA.
Please see the details above about the LHA calculator.

Select the rent period, how often the contact rent is paid. Fortnightly and monthly figures are automatically converted to weekly amounts.

Enter the number of rent free weeks (if any) in your rent year.

Step 2: Council Tax

This section asks for your council tax details (skip this step if you do not want help with your council tax bill).

Enter your actual annual council tax bill, without taking off any council tax benefit you already get.

Has this council tax bill already been discounted?

Step 3: General

This section asks for some general information about you. If you answer "Yes" to the first question you can skip all the income questions (steps 7 to 11) because your income is assumed to be zero.

Are you (the person claiming) on Income Support, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance or Pension Guarantee Credit?

Are you single or living with a partner as a couple?

Enter your age, or the age of the oldest person in a couple.

Step 4: Disabilities

This section asks for for your and your partner's disability or carer details, if any - otherwise skip this step.

Disability applies if you or your partner meet one of these qualifying conditions:

Do you get Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Invalid Vehicle Scheme or Motability, War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement, Severe Disablement Allowance or Incapacity Benefit (and you are the claimant, who is sick and been incapable of work for at least 52 weeks)?
Are you registered blind (or have regained your sight in the last 28 weeks)?

Do you or your partner get the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance?

Do these two statements apply to you? (Only say "Yes" if both of them apply.)

You and your partner get care component of Disability Living Allowance (middle/high rate) or Attendance Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance (or your partner is blind and you get one), and
No other adult lives in your home except your partner, other than disabled persons, your carer, landlord or other tenants.

Is someone getting (or entitled to) a Carer's Allowance for looking after you or your partner, or both of you?

If you or your partner are disabled, do either one of you work an average of 16 hours or more a week?

Are you, your partner, or both of you, being paid (or entitled to be paid) a Carer's Allowance for looking after someone?

Step 5: Children and young persons

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

How many children aged under 16 do you or your partner get child benefit for?

Is there a baby (any child aged under one) in your family?

How many young adults aged 16 to 19 years old do you or your partner get child benefit for?

How many children included above are disabled and receiving Disability Living Allowance or are registered blind?

How many of those children are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance at the highest care component rate?

Step 6: Single lone parent

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

Have you been receiving housing and/or council tax benefit without a break since 5 April 1998?

Step 7: Earnings

This section asks for your earnings details - skip to step 12 if you are on Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance or Pension Guarantee Credit. Give figures for you and your 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

How much do you and your partner earn before deductions?

If you work as a childminder how much do you earn from this? Any earnings from childminding need to be counted separately from other earnings.

How much Income Tax and National Insurance is deducted?

How much do you pay towards a pension scheme?

How many hours are you or your partner each working in an average week? Select the highest.

Are you or partner 50 or over and recently off state benefits after at least six months on them because of now working 16 hours or more?

Step 8: Unearned income

This section asks for your unearned income figures for you and your partner, please make them weekly. Based on the number of children you have told us about you should get Child Benefit of £ - automatically calculated.

Rent from non-family sub-tenants (meals not included), deduct £20 for each one.

Income from non-family boarders (meals included), deduct £20 for each one.

How much maintenance do you receive from a former partner or an absent parent?
Until the end of October 2008 this includes support/maintenance payments for a child unless you or your partner are aged 60 or over.

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.

Unearned income from all other sources each week.
This should include retirement pensions, Incapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance and Severe Disablement Allowances. Do not include Tax, Pension or Return to Work Credits, interest on savings or Attendance, Disability Living, Mobility and Fostering Allowances or Community Care Payments.

Step 9: Savings

This section asks for your and your partner's savings, investments and other assets details. You cannot qualify for any housing benefit or most council tax benefit if you and your partner have £16,000 or more in savings and investments. The home you live in and personal possessions do not count.

How much is the value of all cash, savings, bank deposits, TESSAs, PEPs, unit trusts, ISAs, building society accounts, Tax Credit arrears and all "liquid assets"?

How much is the value of fixed or "non-liquid assets" and investments such as shares, buildings and land but not the house you are living in.
Deduct 10% of the value to cover the cost of sale.

Step 10: Childcare

This section asks for your eligible childcare charges (up to £175 per week 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 (at least 16 hours per week) or on Statutory Sick, Maternity, Paternity or Adoption Pay or a similar benefit (up to 28 weeks).
Couples still qualify if one works and the partner is incapacitated, in hospital or prison. Costs of childcare in the child's own home by a close relative are excluded.

Enter the weekly childcare charges paid. Children count up to the September following their 15 birthday or 16 if disabled.

Enter the weekly student loan or grant contribution, which can also be set off against your and your partner's income.

Step 11: Tax and pension credits

This section asks for for tax and pension credits - income for nearly everyone from the government. They get added to claim income.

If credits are not being paid please tick the box for an estimate and skip the rest of this step

If you do get them, enter the weekly Working Tax Credit and (unless you or partner have reached the age of 60) Child Tax Credit here.

If you already know your credits then enter your weekly Pension Credit figure here.

Otherwise let this calculator do an estimate based on the information you have already supplied. The result may not be fully accurate but it will be very close. Our estimate might just need to know these extra details.

Between you and your partner, are you working 30 hours or more in an average week?

Are you or your partner a disabled adult on High Rate Attendance Allowance?

Step 12: Non-rent paying adults

This section asks about other adults who live with you but pay no rent, often grown-up children. Do not count your partner or any students.
These "non-dependants" are assumed to be contributing to the household income, so a deduction is made from any benefit for each one. 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 if Attendance Allowance has been awarded.

Top earnings category (£369+ per week gross)

£296 to £368.99 per week gross earnings category

£223 to £295.99 per week gross earnings category

£220 to £222.99 per week gross earnings category

£172 to £219.99 per week gross earnings category

£169 to £171.99 per week gross earnings category

£116 to £168.99 per week gross earnings category

Up to £116 per week gross but working at least 16 hours

The number of non-dependants working or otherwise in receipt of any Pension Credit at all.

The number of non-dependants not on Income Support, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance or any Pension Credit and not working at least 16 hours per week.

The number of non-dependants who are under 25 and are on Income Support or Income Based Jobseekers Allowance.

The number of non-dependants who are 25 or over and are on Income Support or Income Based Jobseekers Allowance.

Click and let the program work it out.

The total Applicable Amount figure is (automatically calculated).

The total Net Weekly Income figure is (automatically calculated) including Tax / Pension Credits per week.

How your benefit is worked out

If the total Applicable Amount is higher than Net Weekly Income, maximum benefit is awarded. But if the total Net Weekly Income is higher than the total Applicable Amount, 65% of the "excess income" is deducted from maximum housing benefit to find the award. For council tax benefit, 20% of the "excess income" is deducted from the maximum award. Non-dependant deductions are also taken off at this stage.

Weekly housing benefit

Weekly main council tax 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.

Alternative result (second adult rebate)

You can use the browser print button to print this information, change your figures to calculate again or the whole calculator.