Understanding your entitlement letter

These notes are to help you understand your statement of the details we have used to work out your benefit.

The items below will only appear on your statement if they apply to you.

If your benefit changes, your statement will show the reason for the change. If there is more than one change, you will have a statement for each change.

If you need independent advice on any of the decisions made, you may wish to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Applicable Amount - This is the amount the government says you need to live on. Applicable amounts are made up of allowances and premiums. o Allowances are worked out using the basic living needs of single people, couples and children. o Premiums are extra amounts to cover the special needs of families, single people, elderly people and people with disabilities.

Income - This is the weekly amount of income you get from: o Wages, salary or earnings from self-employment. Deductions have been made for tax, national insurance and half of any amount you pay towards a private pension. o Income other than earnings. This includes state benefits and allowances, private pensions and notional income from capital.

Capital - The word "capital" is used to cover savings, cash, property and investments. We have to take all capital over £6,000 into account. If you have capital over £16,000 you cannot get Housing or Council Tax Benefit.

Deductions for Non-Dependants - Certain people (such as grown-up children or adult relatives) who share your home are called non-dependants. We may make a deduction from your benefit if you have anyone like this living with you, the amount of the deduction depends on how much gross income each non-dependant has. If we have made a deduction for a non-dependant, we have shown their name, and their total weekly income (before tax). If we do not know their income, we will apply the highest deduction and this will be shown in the notification letter. You can then send proof of their income to us if you would like us to consider reducing the deduction.

Council Tax - Eligible Council Tax is the full weekly Council Tax charge. This is what we use to work out your Council Tax Benefit.