Working tax credit/disability element.

sydney689

Hi can anyone help?
im a single person no children and i work approx 40 hours a week, i recieve working tax credits and i recieve a disability element as i was on incapacity benefit for over 5 years due to depression and panic attacks ( mental health )... i have been working now for 3 years but my question is am i still entitled to the disability element of the tax credits , when i renew my credits no one ever questions this but when i was browsing through the notes i.m not sure if you are only allowed to claim this for a certain period of time.
im still under the doctor and i am on medication.
any info appreciated

sydney689

anyone help please?

skater_kat

from entiltedto.co.uk:

Qualifying benefits

To meet the 'qualifying benefit' test you must be receiving one of the following benefits:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit with Constant Attendance Allowance or mobility supplement for you
• War Disablement Pension with Constant Attendance Allowance or mobility supplement for you
• A vehicle provided under the Invalid Vehicle Scheme

Or you must have received one of the following benefits for at least one day in the last six months:

• Incapacity Benefit at the short-term higher rate or long-term rate
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance (where entitlement has existed for a period of 28 weeks immediately preceding the qualifying day , either one continuous period or two or more linked periods)
• Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance with a disability premium
• Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit with a disability premium

You can also meet the qualifying benefit test if you have been training for work for at least one day in the last 8 weeks and you started training for work within 8 weeks of receiving either Incapacity Benefit paid at the short-term higher rate or the long-term rate or Severe Disablement Allowance.

Icequeen99

skater_kat wrote: »

from entiltedto.co.uk:

Qualifying benefits

To meet the 'qualifying benefit' test you must be receiving one of the following benefits:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit with Constant Attendance Allowance or mobility supplement for you
• War Disablement Pension with Constant Attendance Allowance or mobility supplement for you
• A vehicle provided under the Invalid Vehicle Scheme

Or you must have received one of the following benefits for at least one day in the last six months:

• Incapacity Benefit at the short-term higher rate or long-term rate
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance (where entitlement has existed for a period of 28 weeks immediately preceding the qualifying day , either one continuous period or two or more linked periods)
• Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance with a disability premium
• Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit with a disability premium

You can also meet the qualifying benefit test if you have been training for work for at least one day in the last 8 weeks and you started training for work within 8 weeks of receiving either Incapacity Benefit paid at the short-term higher rate or the long-term rate or Severe Disablement Allowance.

That list isn't the full qualification list.

Basically, to get the disability element you must meet ALL of the following 3 conditions for each day of your claim:

1. You work at least 16 hrs
2. You pass the disadvantage at work test
3. You receive or have recently received a qualifying benefit

The third test, part of which is quoted in the post above, is often called the qualifying benefit test. There are some bits missing from the post, including that you qualify if you have received the disability element of WTC in the last 56 days (and you originally qualified due to receipt of certain other benefits such as long term Incapacity Benefit in the 183 days prior to claim).

Condition 3 is complicated, so you might want some advice to make sure you do qualify.

From what you say it sounds as if you are fine for condition 1 and 3.

So you need to have a look at the second part of the test (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/tc956.pdf), and see if you still have a disadvantage in work. if you do then you continue to qualify.

as I say it is complicated, so try CAB or similar to find out more.

IQ

sydney689

Thank you, i think i meet condition 2 as i,m under a doctor and recieve treatment.
i was only looking into tax credits as im wanting to reduce my hours of work to 16 hours because of my health issues and when i read all the disability info i wasn,t sure if i still qualified for the disability element...its quiet hard to understand.