Income Support

What is Income Support?

This is extra money to help people on a low income.

It is for people who don't have to sign on as unemployed.

This could be if you are:

• sick or disabled
• a lone parent responsible for a child under 12 years of age
• a carer, or
• registered blind.

Can I get Income Support?

It is for people who:

• are 16 to 59 years old
• have a low income
• work less than 16 hours a week
• are not in full-time study
• do not get Jobseeker's Allowance
• do not have savings above £16,000, and
• live in Great Britain

 Income Support - Help if you’re on a low income (456kb)

What are the benefit rates?

Income Support is a benefit payment made up of three different parts: personal allowances, premiums and payments to cover certain housing costs.

Personal allowances

Single people:

Aged 16-17: £50.95

or in specific circumstances: £50.95

Aged 18-24: £50.95

Aged 25 or over: £64.30

Couple:

Both aged 18 and over: £100.95

Where one or both partners are aged under 18, their personal allowance will be calculated based on their specific circumstances.

Lone parents:

Aged 16-17: £50.95

or depending on their circumstances: £50.95

Aged 18 and over: £64.30

Dependent children:

From birth to day before 20th birthday: £56.11

Most families in receipt of Income Support receive support for their children through Child Tax Credit. A decision will be made on transferring the remaining cases in due course. To find out more about Child Tax Credit.

What do I need to do next?

Call 0800 055 6688 (8am - 6pm Monday to Friday). A textphone service is available if you have a speech or hearing impairment 0800 023 4888.

You can download Income Support forms.

To make sure you do not miss out on any benefit due to you, you should contact us to find out if you need to fill in this form. If you download a form you should contact us to establish the date of your claim. Find out how to contact us.

You can download Income Support claim forms and associated forms in a PDF format. These forms do not apply in Northern Ireland.

Please choose a form from the options below.

Get help with PDFs

 If you want to fill in the Income Support form on screen (720k)

 If you want to fill in the Housing Council Tax Benefit form on screen 

 If you are self employed and want to fill in the self employed form on screen

We have introduced a special feature that lets you save this form as you fill it in. This feature only works in Adobe Acrobat reader 5.1 and above. This means that you no longer have to complete the form in one session.

We recommend that you save this file to your computer hard disk, floppy disk or a CD before completing it.

• To save a copy of the file to disk right click with your mouse on the link above and choose the 'Save Target As' option.
• You cannot save the form once you have opened it in an internet browser.
• After you have completed the form on screen, you will have to print and sign it.

If you want to print out a form to fill in with a pen

 If you want to print out the Income Support form to fill in with a pen (299k)

 If you want to print out the Housing Council Tax Benefit form to fill in with a pen

 If you are self employed and want to print off the self employed form to fill in with a pen

Claim Online

You can claim Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit online 

Employment and Support Allowance

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) was introduced on 27 October 2008, and replaced Incapacity Benefit and Income Support, paid because of an illness or disability, for new customers only. It has been designed to help you achieve your full potential and help you to gain independence from benefits.

Find out more about Employment and Support Allowance

Support for mortgage interest

If you are claiming Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment & Support Allowance and you are a homeowner, your benefit may include additional support for mortgage interest (SMI).

Find out more about support for mortgage interest