Remember that in order to get Carer’s Allowance you have told the Department for Work and Pensions that
- You are caring for someone at least 35 hours a week
- You are not earning more than £120 per week
So assuming that you have been honest with the Department for Work and Pensions and are not earning a lot less than the national minimum wage you must be working part-time, and not full time. In fact, if you are earning at least the national minimum wage and are 21 or over, you must be working less than 16 hours per week. This means that Working Tax Credit is ruled out for all but a very few carers.
What can you claim, then?
Income Support
- You have the right to claim Income Support as a carer
- However, you will still not be entitled to Income Support if you are actually working 16 hours or more per week (but this almost certainly doesn’t apply to you!)
- The big problem is that the amount you get will be reduced if you have other income (although some income is ignored, including the things further down this page) or if you have too much savings or other capital
- Unfortunately, any weekly earnings over £20 are counted as income
- Crucially, the Carer’s Allowance itself is counted as income as well
- Because of this, the way this normally works out in practice, if you are over 25, and are not disabled yourself, is:
- If you earn £64.50 or more a week, you get no Income Support
- If you earn between £64.49 and £20 per week, your Income Support, wages, and Carer’s Allowance added together add up to £129.10
- If you earn less than £20 per week, you receive £109.10 per week from your Income Support and Carer’s Allowance combined, plus your wages.
- In other words, there’s not much point in earning more than £20 per week because the rest of it is knocked off your Income Support
- The principle is the same if you are under 25, but the amounts you get are smaller: again, there is no financial advantage to you in earning more than £20 per week
- You can claim Income Support by phoning the Jobcentre Plus on 0800 055 6688.
Housing Benefit
- If you rent your home, getting Income Support should entitle you to full Housing Benefit as well. Bear in mind, though, being entitled to full Housing Benefit is not the same as getting all your rent paid
- Even if you are not entitled to Income Support you may still be entitled to some Housing Benefit, depending on how big your wages are, so you should make a claim
- If you want more information about Housing Benefit, click here
 If
you were getting Housing Benefit before for some other reason (for
example, getting Jobseeker's Allowance, or working and being on
low income) you should tell the local authority (council) that
your circumstances have changed, otherwise you will be getting
Housing Benefit for the wrong reason, and may end up being asked
to pay back an overpayment |
Council Tax Support
- If you rent your home, getting Income Support should entitle you to full Council Tax Support as well. Bear in mind, though, being entitled to full Council Tax Support is not the same as getting all your council tax paid. Depending on your local authority (council) you might find that you are entitled to more Council Tax Support than you were before.
- Even if you are not entitled to Income Support you may still be entitled to some Council Tax Support, depending on how big your wages are, so you should make a claim
- If you want more information about Council Tax Support, click here
| If
you were getting Council Tax Support before for some other reason
(for example, getting Jobseeker's Allowance, or working and being
on low income) you should tell the local authority (council) that
your circumstances have changed, otherwise you will be getting
Council Tax Support for the wrong reason, and may end up being
asked to pay back an overpayment |