Council tax and 2nd person

Lady_K

I am on income support, ic, dla, and sda so have not had to pay council tax but my daughter is coming back to stay with me for a while. I rang the council tax office today and I don't know why but I just assumed my eligibility would go down from 100% to 25% because of my benefits and the rest would have to be paid as my daughter is in full time work but they told me this is not the case. They said they want to see my daughters last 2 months wage slips. Is it really necessary to give them these and what if we didnt? would they just give me the 25% off for being on income support and have to pay the rest? As far as I can see from the net roughly they have 4 levels of allwance 0% 7% 15% 25% depending on what you earn but my daughter earns more than the one at 0% so this is why I'm asking what if we don't give the wage slips as shes over the limit anyway and its me on benefits so feel its her personal info going to them for nothing

I have informed the dhs benefits agency today so they should be sorting that side of things out. I don't know how it will affect my benefits, I'm a bit nervous about it, don't know what to expect. How is it likely to affect my benefits?

[Deleted User]

from what i remember from when we had a non dependant living with us because i`m on dla we still didnt have to pay and c/tax,that was with mid rate care and a non dependant under 25(not sure if either of these make any difference)but i do remember at the time that it took some sorting as the lady at the council had never heard of that rule...

Lady_K

I will have to ring again tomorrow, I did ask questions but she just kept saying that they needed the wage slips. I just expected to have to pay 75% and be exempt for the other 25% it says on council site that you cant claim 2nd person rebate together with council tax rebate they work it out and you recieve the one which works out the highest. But if my daughters earning over the level they class as 0% benefit my allowance would be the higher anyway so sending her wageslips would be invasion on her privacy for nothing. I just wondered what they would do without the wageslips

This is hrc and daughter is 25, I think I will lose the sda at the least and not sure about my housing allowance

Macro_3

If you are in receipt of DLA care at any rate then there will be no non-dependent deduction made for your daughter. If this is the case then I suggest calling them and querying why the wage slips are needed when your daughter's income is irrelevant to your claim due to your DLAC award.

If you don't get DLAC, then the maximum you could lose would be £6.95/week. You can compare your daughter's gross weekly wage to these and work out how much you will lose:

Aged 18 or over and in remunerative work

• gross income greater than £382 = £6.95
• gross income £306 - £381.99 = £5.80
• gross income £178 - £305.99 = £4.60
• gross income less than £177.99 = £2.30
• others aged 18 or over = £2.30

Alternatively, if she prefers not to supply the wage slips then you could write to the LA stating that, and they will then make the highest deduction.

Lady_K

What does DLAC mean please?

Also, if they do have to end up seeing her wage slips she does get a petrol allowance and car maintenance mixed in with her wages which makes it seem she gets more than she does. I asked them if they take this into consideration but the council tax said no they would just calculate it over 8 weeks as though it was what she earned. But the extra allowance she gets is costs for the job, petrol used ect and not in her pocket so seems a bit unfair to include that in thier calculations

Kerry12345

They only need to see her wage slips if she is earning £381.99per week gross, or under. If she is over this amount, you can just phone them and tell them to use the highest amount £6.95 per week to calculate her council tax. See Macro's list in post 4.

If you don't hand in her wage slips, they will calculate at the highest rate anyway as they need to see proof if she earns less than £381.99 pw gross.

fluffymovie

Hi, I think there may be some confusion over the terms and type of benefit you receive.

You will be in receipt of Council tax Benefit based on 75% of your annual liability as you will receive a 25% Single Person Discount.

If your daughter moves back in, your Council Tax Bill will increase as it will be ased on 100% but as you on IS, you won't notice the difference.

If your daughter moves back in, a non dependent deduction will be taken on the basis of her weekly gross income but as you on DLA Care, no deduction will apply so you will continue to receive full CTB.

2nd adult rebate is also called alternative maximum benefit and is for people who's income is too high for 'normal' benefit but who have a non dependent living with them and as a result, lose their 25% SPD. They then get a discount on their Council Tax bill based on the gross income of the 2nd person.

The Council may need a wageslip from your daughter for their software but if they know you are on DLA Care, you could ask them to re-assess your claim and provide the payslips later?

Good Luck!

Lady_K

I just rang back to tell them about the dla care and the lady insisted that I must provide the wage slips because they have to calculate how much has to be deducted from my allowance, she said if I dont they will take the maximum off my benefit and I could end up paying more. She didnt seem interested in the dla she got a bit mad actually, she said what makes the difference is that I'm on income support and it has to be calculated wether I'm on dla care or not. I asked if there was anyone else I could talk to about it and she very reluctantly said that she would ask her supervisor to ring me when she was off the phone, I'm still waiting for her call back. The lady I spoke to got pretty angry saying it is them who I should be speaking to about it not anyone else as they don't know the rules they do

Lady_K

The supervisor rang back and said they had no information that I was on dla at all so they were just going by my income support. She felt pretty bad I think and was very helpful she told me that they do need to see evidence of my dla though and it must be taken into the council within a month and they cant have copies. She even offered to pick it up from my house but I said my granddaughter would be able to do it if she has up to a month.
I did think about asking her to please inform the lady I spoke to previously as she obviously wasnt aware of what to do when I told her I was on dla, but I just left it. I thought she sounded as though she wasnt pleased with the way it had been handled anyway and that she would more than likely tell the lady herself. There must be other people on dla that do slip through the net though with this as if I hadnt pushed to speak to a supervisor and didnt know from asking here I would have been charged and been non the wiser

fluffymovie

Glad it seems that I was right (I do work in benefits so hope I would be!)

The LA can actually access something called CIS (Customer Information System) to get your DLA details so funny that they are asking for letters.
If you do speak to them again, I would ask them to check that for your DLA award

Macro_3

I'm surprised that they asked to see your letters, but at least they are aware now - so hopefully they will get your claim right :beer: