IS20 - A guide to Income Support

Other social security benefits you may get

Tax Credits

Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, introduced in April 2003, are administered by and claimed from HM Revenue & Customs.

• Any new claim to Income Support awarded from 6 April 2004 will not include child-related elements because support for children will be provided by Child Tax Credit (CTC). Families already on Income Support in April 2004 who have not already claimed CTC will be moved across to CTC in 2005. CTC is paid into the Income Support customer's account on migration. If you want to have it paid to the main carer, you must contact Inland Revenue to get it changed. If you claim CTC before 2005 then it will replace the child-related elements in your Income Support claim.
• The Working Tax Credit (WTC) is a tax credit to top up the earnings of working people on a low income.  It extends support to some adults without children or a disability. WTC continues to include help with the costs of childcare through the childcare element. WTC is paid with the wages by the employer, or direct to the self-employed. The childcare element is paid direct to the main carer.

To find out more about Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits – you can claim on-line too.

If you would rather ring HM Revenue & Customs, call the Helpline on the following numbers:

England, Scotland and Wales - 0845 300 3900

England, Scotland and Wales - 0845 300 3909

If you need help or a form in Welsh, please telephone (8.30am–5pm, Monday to Friday) - 0845 302 1489

All other lines open: 8am–8pm seven days a week (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday).  Calls are charged at local rates based on current tariffs from BT landlines. Calls from mobile phonesand other networks may differ.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

If you are getting Income Support, you may be able to get help with your rent, other housing payments and Council Tax. For more information go to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit can also be paid to people in full-time or part-time work who need help to pay their rent – you do not have to be getting Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) to get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

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