What happens to my Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit when I find work? 

You must write to Derby Benefits and tell them, or you can go to the Derby Benefits office or a local housing office  in person and sign a statement to say that you have started work. It is not enough only to tell the Benefits Agency. While they often pass information on to us, they do not have to. It is your responsibility to tell us about any changes in circumstances that may affect your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit claims.

If your Income Support or Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance stops because you start work, we will stop your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit from the end of that week. If you want to carry on claiming Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, you should fill in another application form.

What happens if Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit is paid after I start work?

Any Housing Benefit paid that you are not entitled to is classed as an overpayment. Overpayments can occur because we are not told that you have started work, or because we have been told but we’ve paid you past the date payments should have been stopped.

We may ask you or your landlord to repay any overpayment. The law says that we can recover most overpayments. The only overpayments we can’t recover are ones where we have made a mistake. Even where we have made a mistake, we can still recover the overpayment if you or your landlord could have known that the payments should not have been made. Where an overpayment has been made, we will normally ask you or your landlord to repay it. If you are entitled to Housing Benefit again for the same period as the overpayment, we will take the overpayment off the new payment.

Overpayments of Council Tax Benefit are known as excess benefit. Excess benefit is recovered by taking the money back off your Council Tax account.

Will I still get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit now I have started work?

You may still get some Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit even though you have started work. The amount you will get will depend on:

• your family’s net earnings and any other income

• any savings you or your partner may have

• any children you may have and their ages

• the amount of rent or council tax you pay

• any non-dependants who live with you. See section ‘ Non-dependant deductions’.

Please contact us if you want to know how much Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit you will get if you start work. We will work out your likely level of benefit based on the wages you expect to get.

You can also download our leaflet:

Council Tax benefit and Housing benefit when you are working  - 45Kb

Extended Payments of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

You may be able to get the same level of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit for an extra four weeks after you start work. This extra help is called ‘extended payment’. It doesn’t matter how much you earn in your new job.

If you qualify for Extended Payments you will get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for an extra four weeks, paid at the same level as we paid you immediately before you started work.

What other benefits can I get when I am in work?

• Child Tax Credit

To be eligible for Child Tax Credit a family must simply be responsible for at least one child aged under 16, or one young person aged 16 or over but under 19 who is in full-time non-advanced education.

Most families can claim Child Tax Credit and the amount they receive will depend on the family income.

• Working Tax Credit

To receive Working Tax Credit one person in the household must be working over 16 hours per week.

Working Tax Credit also extends support to those without children or a disability. In these cases remunerative work represents normal working hours of at least 30 hours per week. In addition you must be aged 25 or over, if you are one of a couple, the person working at least 30 hours per week must be over 25.

The amount of Working Tax Credit you receive will depend on:

• How many children you have and their ages
• Your families net earnings and other income
• Any savings you or your partner may have.

If you want further information about Tax Credits you can visit the Inland Revenue  website.