Working Age Council Tax Support

What counts as income?
What is disregarded as income?
Earnings disregard
Disabled household disregard
Savings and capital
Other adults living with you
An example calculation
How to claim
Backdating your application
Changes in circumstances
Hardship

The Council Tax Support scheme for working age people in Fareham has changed from 1 April 2026. The following information outlines the main aspects of the new scheme. If you have any questions not covered here, please contact us so that we can advise you.

Under the new scheme each claimant will fall into one of the following household types:

• Single adult
• Single adult with one child
• Single adult with two or more children
• Couple
• Couple with one child
• Couple with two or more children

We will calculate your weekly income to determine which 'income band' you fall into for your household type. You will be awarded a % reduction to your Council Tax bill based on your weekly income as follows:

What counts as income?

Any of the below incomes that you and/or your partner receive will be counted in the calculation of your Council Tax Support:

• Universal Credit – some elements of your UC will be counted as income, such as your personal and child allowances. Other elements of your UC are disregarded (please refer to the next section)
• Employed earnings – if you are employed, we will use the net earnings as detailed in your UC award. If you do not receive UC we will use your recent pay slips to work out your average net earnings as: gross minus tax, NI and 50% of any pension contributions.
• Self-employed earnings – if you are in receipt of UC we will use the net earnings as detailed in your UC award. If your UC is subject to the 'minimum income floor' we will use your actual net earnings and not the MIF figure. If you do not receive UC we will ask for details of your income and expenses over a previous period to determine an average weekly net income which we will review periodically.
• DWP incomes – examples include State Pension, new-style JSA, Maternity Allowance, Widowed Parents Allowance etc.
• Pensions – any occupational/private pensions or annuities you receive will be counted as income. If you pay tax on your pension, we will use the net figure after tax has been deducted.
• Other incomes – the above list is not exhaustive and there may be other less common incomes which will be counted for your Council Tax Support entitlement. If you are not sure what incomes you receive will be counted, please contact us.

What is disregarded as income?

Any of the below incomes that you and/or your partner receive will NOT be counted in the calculation of your Council Tax Support:

• Universal Credit – the following elements of your UC are disregarded:
  • Housing element (in full if you receive your maximum UC, or a % if you receive below your maximum UC)
  • Disabled child element
  • Carer element
  • Childcare element
  • Limited Capability for Work (LCW / LCWRA)
• Carer's Allowance
• New-style Employment & Support Allowance – also referred to as ESA contribution-based. If you receive the 'support component' in your ESA, this is also disregarded.
• Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment – DLA and PIP received for children are also disregarded.
• Child Benefit
• Child maintenance
• War Disablement Pensions

Earnings disregard

If you and/or your partner work, we will deduct £50 per week from your income. If your earnings come to less than £50 per week, the deduction will be capped at that amount. For example, if your weekly earnings come to £30, we will only deduct £30 from your income.

Disabled household disregard

If you, your partner or one of your dependant children receive one of the below benefits, we will disregard £100 per week from your income. If your household income is less than £100 per week, the deduction will be capped at that amount.

• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Limited Capability for Work element of UC

Savings and capital

If you and/or your partner's total savings/capital exceed £16,000 you will not be eligible for Council Tax Support.

Any savings/capital you and/or your partner possess below £16,000 will not affect your entitlement to Council Tax Support.

Other adults living with you

We will not make any deductions to your Council Tax Support entitlement due to the income of other adults in your household. For example, an adult son/daughter's earnings or benefits.

An example calculation

Here is an example of how Council Tax Support is calculated. This example shows a single adult with one child, with earnings of £1,000 pm net, renting privately and receiving UC.

Their UC maximum is £1584.14 broken down as personal allowance £400.14, housing element £845.00 and child element of £339.00.

Their UC payment is £1,260.19 after UC have deducted the 'earnings taper'.

Their UC payment is below the maximum and so we will disregard a % of their housing element. This comes to £672.20 leaving £587.99 of their UC payment which we will count as income. We then convert this to a weekly figure of £135.69.

Their earnings of £1000 per month is converted to a weekly figure of £230.77. We then deduct £50 giving earnings of £180.77.

Finally, the UC income of £135.69 is combined with the earnings of £180.77 to give a total weekly income of £316.46.

For a single adult with one child this places them in the £300 - £349.99 bracket which gives a 75% reduction in their Council Tax bill.

The full working age scheme details can be viewed in more detail here (839 KB).

How to claim

If you are of working age, you can apply here online.

Please note if you are a mixed aged couple where one of you has reached State Retirement age and one of you receives universal credit you count as a working age household for Council Tax Support and should appy as above.

If you are a mixed aged couple and do not receive universal credit then you count as a pension age household for Council Tax Support. Please contact us by telephone on: 01329 824646 or email benefits@fareham.gov.uk about making a claim.

Backdating your application

New claims for Council Tax Support can potentially be backdated to 1 April of the current tax year. Backdating is not automatic. When making your application you will need to specify the date you wish your claim to be considered from and detail a 'good reason' for why you did not make your claim at the time. You may be required to provide evidence of your income and savings for the backdated period if we are not able to obtain this information ourselves from other sources such as your Universal Credit award history.

Changes in circumstances

Much of the information used to assess your claim comes from other sources on an automated basis. This includes updates to your UC and other DWP benefits like ESA, PIP and State Pension.

However, these systems are not flawless, and it remains your responsibility as someone claiming Council Tax Support to ensure that you report any changes in your circumstances to our offices. It is always best to contact us directly and not assume that another organisation will inform us.

If you receive too much Council Tax Support because of a change in your circumstances which you did not tell us about, you may be asked to repay this.

If you are unsure if a change will affect your claim, please contact us straight away so we can advise you accordingly.

Hardship

If you are receiving Council Tax Support but are still struggling to afford your Council Tax bill, it may be possible we can offer additional assistance via our Hardship Fund.

Exceptional Hardship Payments are designed as a short-term help only. All applicants will be expected to engage with the Council and undertake an application process. You can contact us to discuss your situation on benefits@fareham.gov.uk or via 01329 824646

Further details of our Exceptional Hardship Scheme can be found here (179 KB).