How Benefit is Calculated
We calculate your Income less any disregards (this is money the Government says should not be used in the benefit calculation) and your applicable amount (this is the minimum amount of money the government says you can live on).
Your applicable amount is then compared with your income. If your income is less than your applicable amount then you would normally be entitled to full Housing/Council Tax benefit (this may not be the case if you have non dependants or if the Rent Officer has advised the Council to use a lower Rent to assess your entitlement).
If you have more money than your applicable amount
If you have more money coming in than your applicable amount a taper is use to calculate the amount of Housing/Council Tax Benefit you may qualify for.
A taper works like this:
Compare your income to your applicable amount. If you have more income than the applicable amount work out the difference. Deduct 65% of the difference from the weekly Rent and 20% from the weekly Council Tax liability. The figure you are left with is the amount you would normally qualify for.
Remember if there are any non-dependants in the household the entitlement would be reduced accordingly.
EXAMPLE for a single woman living alone
A single woman lives alone. Her eligible rent is £50.00 per week. Her weekly Council tax is £10.00. She would qualify for 25% off her Council Tax as a single person discount. This means her liability is £7.50.
If she claimed Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) or if her income is below her applicable amount she would qualify for all of her Rent and Council Tax.
If her income is £10.00 above her Applicable Amount we would deduct £6.50 (65% of £10.00) from the full rent liability, and her rebate would be £43.50.
£2.00 (20% of £10.00) would be deducted from her Council Tax liability leaving her an entitlement of £5.50.