You have a disability – can you get extra Working Tax Credit? :Cross Stitch – Money, tax and benefits

If you or your partner have a disability and usually work 16 hours or more a week, you could get extra Working Tax Credit. This is called the ‘disability element’.

You might get one of the following:

  • the Highest Rate Care Component of Disability Living Allowance
  • the Higher Rate of Attendance Allowance

If so, you may qualify for a further amount of Working Tax Credit because of your severe disability. This is called the ‘severe disability element’.

You won’t be able to get the severe disability element unless you qualify for Working Tax Credit. This means that you or your partner will need to be working a certain number of hours. This depends on your circumstances, but if you’re disabled you’ll normally have to work at least 16 hours a week.

If you’re in a couple, the person with the severe disability doesn’t have to be working. But one of you will still need to be working the minimum number of hours to qualify for Working Tax Credit.

This tax year – 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2023 – on top of your basic Working Tax Credit you could get:

  • £2,790 a year, that is around £54 a week, if you qualify for extra payments because you have a disability
  • £1,190 a year, that is around £23 a week, if you qualify for extra payments because you have a severe disability
  • £3,980 a year, that is around £77 a week, if you qualify for both lots of extra payments

If you claim as a couple and both you and your partner have a severe disability, you can qualify for two extra payments of £1,190.

The amount you get also depends on other money you have coming in:

  • Disability Living Allowance doesn’t count as income when your tax credits are worked out
  • other benefits like Carer’s Allowance do count as income, and can reduce your tax credit payments

To find out more about how much you may get, you can use an online calculator or call the Tax Credit Helpline.

If you now think you qualify for extra tax credits because of a disability, you should make a claim as soon as possible.

You should make a claim within one month of finding out you are entitled to a qualifying disability or sickness benefit. This is to make sure that you get your payments backdated to the earliest possible date.

To claim, fill in a claim form. You can only get a claim form by calling the Tax Credit Helpline.

Provided by HM Revenue and Customs