Household Members
Your Partner
Following the introduction of Civil Partnerships on 05 December 2005, a partner, for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit purposes, is defined as:
- A person you are married to or a person you live with as if you are married to them, or
- A civil partner or a person you live with as if you are civil partners.
Your Dependants
A Dependant is any member of your household whom you receive Child Benefit for. These are usually your own children, but it could be your brother or sister, niece, nephew or grandchildren.
Child Care costs maybe taken into account when working out entitlement to Benefit?
Child care costs can be taken into account if the child care is provided by a registered childminder, nursery or after-school club.
You will need to provide us with proof of your child care costs, including the registration number of the child care provider. The easiest way to do so is to download and print off the Proof of Child Care Costs Form below.
What happens when your child leaves school?
Child Benefit stops being paid when a child leaves school, unless the child enters full time further education, in which case it is paid until the child is 20. You must tell us as soon as you stop receiving Child Benefit for any member of your household. If you don't tell us you may be overpaid benefit, which would be recovered from you.
When a child leaves school, but continues in further education, you must tell us this, and also provide written proof of the course the child is taking. If you don't do this, we would have to treat your child as a non-dependant, which could mean you get less benefit.
When the dependant reaches their 18th birthday, you must inform us.
If your Dependant is still in receipt of Child Benefit when he/she becomes 18, you must contact us straight away to confirm that you are still receiving Child Benefit for them. Again, if you don't do this, we would have to treat your child as a non-dependant, which could mean that a full non-dependant deduction would be taken and you would receive less benefit.
Your Non-dependants
A non-dependant is usually a person over 18 years old who normally lives with you but who is not:
- Your partner
- Someone for whom you receive Child Benefit
- Still in full or part time education
- A joint tenant or joint owner
- A sub-tenant
- A boarder (a person who pays rent to you and who receives meals)
Non-dependants will usually be your adult children, relatives or friends, but can also include foster children, 16 to 18 year olds who aren't in further education and children of non-dependants.
The Government assumes that the non-dependant makes a contribution to the household expenses. Therefore, we must make a deduction from any Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit we may award you to take this contribution into account. This is known as a Non-dependant Deduction.
Any money paid by a non-dependant for their keep is not treated as your income. Instead we make a fixed deduction from Housing and Council Tax Benefit based on the Non-dependant's weekly income before any deductions such as Income Tax, National Insurance, etc.
The amount of the deduction depends upon the Non-dependant's circumstances, for example their age and income. The income of Non-dependant couples in a household is added together to establish what Non-dependant Deduction is applied.
Even if your non-dependant does not pay any money the relevant non-dependant deduction will be taken; these rules are set by Central Government.
You must provide details of your Non-dependant's income.
We must have all the non-dependant's income details so we can work out the correct amount of benefit we can award to you. If you cannot get all the information we need, please contact us straight away and explain the problem, as we may take the highest Non-dependant Deduction to avoid paying you too much benefit.
There are circumstances where a Non-dependant Deduction doesn't apply.
There are certain circumstances where we will not reduce your benefit even though you have non-dependants living with you. These are:
If you or your partner:
- Receive Attendance Allowance
- Get the care component of Disability Living Allowance
- Are registered blind
If you or your partner are 65 or over and a member of your household becomes a Non-dependant, a Non-dependant moves in with you, or an existing Non–dependant has a change in income which means you will get less benefit, we will not alter your benefit for 26 weeks following these type of changes.
Please note, however, if you or your partner are 65 or over and a young person already living with you become 18, the Law says that we have to alter your benefit from the Monday after their 18th birthday.
In addition, we will not make a deduction if the Non-dependant:
- Is under 18
- Is under 25 and on Income Support (IS) or Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) (Income Based)
- Is a full time student, during their period of study
- Is in legal custody
- Has been in hospital for 52 weeks or more
- Receives a training allowance paid in connection with a Youth Training scheme
- Normally lives elsewhere
All the Non-dependants we know about in your household are listed on the notification letter, along with the amounts we have taken off your benefit for each one.
Non-dependant Deductions
The Levels of Deduction for Housing Benefit.
For Non-dependants working 16 hours or more per week; aged 18 years or above, and in remunerative work, and not on maternity or sick leave, who have a gross weekly income of:
| Level of Income | 52 weeks | 48 Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Under £116.00 | £7.40 | £8.02 |
| £116.00 to £171.99 | £17.00 | £18.42 |
| £172.00 to £222.99 | £23.35 | £25.30 |
| £223.00 to £295.99 | £38.20 | £41.38 |
| £296.00 to £368.99 | £43.50 | £47.13 |
| £369.00 and above | £47.75 | £51.73 |
For Non-dependants on Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (or not getting Income Based Job Seekers Allowance because of a sanction):
| 52 weeks | 48 Weeks | |
|---|---|---|
| Under £116.00 Aged 25 or over | £7.40 | £8.02 |
| Aged under 25 | nil | nil |
For Non-dependants working less than 16 hours per week, on maternity leave, paternity leave or sick leave, or who are neither working nor on Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (regardless of the level of their income) - £7.40
For Non-dependants who are receiving Pension Credit (either guaranteed credit only, savings credit only or both) - nil
The Levels of Deduction for Council Tax Benefit.
For Non-dependants working 16 hours or more per week; aged 18 years or above, and in remunerative work, and not on maternity or sick leave, who have a gross weekly income of:
| Level of Income | 52 weeks |
|---|---|
| Under £172.00 or they are not working | £2.30 |
| £172.00 to £295.99 | £4.60 |
| £296.00 to £368.99 | £5.80 |
| £369.00 and above | £6.95 |
For Non-dependants on Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (or not getting Income Based Job Seekers Allowance because of a sanction) - nil.
For Non-dependants working less than 16 hours per week, on maternity, paternity leave or sick leave, or who are neither working nor on Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance - £2.30.
For Non-dependants in receipt of Pension Credits (guaranteed only, savings only or both) - nil.
Note
The non-dependant deductions change in April each year.
