Council Tax Benefit, Savings and Offset Mortgage

superhoop

I wonder if anyone can help?

My wife has malignant melanoma, and receives Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance, both components at the higher rate.

We own our house jointly and are jointly liable for Council Tax. Clearly we'd like to claim the benefit for her portion.

I'm salaried so that will have some impact on what benefit she will get but a big stumbling block is our offset mortgage with First Direct. It's nearly 4 years old, it was originally for £200K, now it stands at £120K. We have £35k of our own offset against that, plus £4K of stooze money.

Under Council Tax Benefit rules, you are not allowed over £16,000 of savings.

Those two 'pots' of £35K and £4K are in accounts called "Savings" (Thanks to the limitations of First Direct's systems)

Now, as I see it, my wife and I are £81K in debt.

When we apply for Council Tax Benefit, how will the council assessors see it? Should I even declare it?

Because we're well ahead on our mortgage, I could drawdown more funds and have even more in our pots - but that would be no more our money than the £39K that we currently have offsetting?

Can anyone advise us on what to do in this situation?

Many thanks

Steve

cattie

If you have a reasonable salary coming in then you are not going to qualify for any council tax benefit. It isn't possible to claim a 'portion' of council tax or housing benefit when you are one of a couple claiming benefits.

No matter how you look at it you have too much in savings to qualify & of course you need to declare all savings. Otherwise it's benefit fraud & that isn't what this site condones.

Council tax is a pain, but it's something we all have to pay if our income or savings dictate we must.

bonnie_2

you can claim a disabled reduction of about 10 per cent that is it. but to get it completely paid for ,you basically have to be claimimg income support.