If you have Parkinson s, or care for someone who does, you may have

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1 Work, Symptoms money and and practical lifestyle matters Working Tax Credit If you have Parkinson s, or care for someone who does, you may have some concerns about how you will manage financially. If you need help with your day-to-day needs, this can lead to extra costs. There is financial support available, so it s important to find out what benefits you re entitled to. This sheet explains what Working Tax Credit is, who qualifies, how to claim and what information you need to supply when you claim. What is Working Tax Credit? Working Tax Credit is a benefit managed by HM Revenue and Customs to top up the earnings of working people on a low income. You can only get it if you (or your partner, if you have one) are in paid work (or in the four-week run-on period after stopping work). Entitlement is based on the number of hours of paid work you do. Self-employed work counts, but unpaid work does not. Extra money is available if someone in your household has a disability (including Parkinson s) and/or you pay for childcare. A new benefit, Universal Credit, is going to replace Working Tax Credit over the next few years (see page 3). Do I qualify for Working Tax Credit? You may qualify for Working Tax Credit if, at the time you make your claim, you are in paid work (or starting paid work within seven days) that will last for at least four weeks. You must be at least 16 years old and you (or your partner, if you have one) must work for 16 hours or more a week, provided that at least one of the following conditions apply: yyou are a single parent responsible for a child or qualifying young person. A qualifying young person is, broadly speaking, someone who is aged 16 19, still in education, for whom you can claim Child Benefit

2 yyou are in a couple and one or both of you are responsible for a child or qualifying young person, one of you works at least 16 hours a week, and you work at least 24 hours a week between you yyou are in a couple and one or both of you are responsible for a child or qualifying young person, and one of you works at least 16 hours a week where the other partner is incapacitated (including if they get Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance), entitled to Carer s Allowance or in hospital or prison yyou or your partner qualify for the disabled worker element (see below) yyou are aged 60 or over Otherwise, you can only qualify if you are aged 25 or over and work at least 30 hours a week. You must be present and ordinarily resident in the UK and not be subject to immigration control. Your income must be low enough for Working Tax Credit to be paid. The disabled worker element The disabled worker element is payable if you or your partner and it has to be the person who is working has a disability (such as Parkinson s) that puts you at a disadvantage in getting a job, and you are receiving a qualifying disability benefit (this can include Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance). Can I get help with childcare costs? You may qualify for help with the costs of registered or approved childcare. The childcare element of Working Tax Credit is worth up to 70 pence for every pound you spend on childcare. For example, if you spend 100 a week on childcare, the childcare element could be up to 70 a week. There are limits to the amount you can receive: a week for one child and 210 a week for two or more children. As with Tax Credits as a whole, the help you get with childcare costs depends on your income and the amount you actually end up with may be reduced after your income is taken into account. How much is Working Tax Credit? The amount of Working Tax Credit you receive will be based on your circumstances, including how many hours you normally work and your income. It is paid in addition to any Child Tax Credit you may be entitled to. Child Tax Credit is a means-tested benefit for people, working or not, who are responsible for children. There is more information about Child Tax Credit in the Disability Rights UK Factsheet F9 a guide to Tax Credits (see or call ). The elements of Working Tax Credit used to calculate the amount you get are: ybasic element included in all claims ylone parent element if you are single and responsible for a child or qualifying young person ycouple element if you are a couple (with or without children) y30-hour element to give people an incentive to work 30 hours a week or more ydisabled worker element (see The disabled worker element above) ysevere disability element if you get higher rate Attendance Allowance, the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance, the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment, or Armed Forced Independence Payment ychildcare element (see Can I get help with childcare costs? above) 2

3 All the elements you are entitled to are added together and the total is compared with your earnings and other income. The total is then reduced as necessary in proportion to your earnings and other income (if this amounts to more than 6,420 a year). The higher your income, the less Tax Credit you get. How is Working Tax Credit paid? Working Tax Credit is generally paid to the person who is working (however the childcare element normally goes to the carer). If you and your partner both work 16 hours a week or more, you must choose who will receive it. HM Revenue and Customs pays it directly into your bank account. Find out more: if you don t have a bank account, see our information sheet General information about benefits. This explains how to get a bank account. How do I claim Working Tax Credits? Phone HM Revenue and Customs on (textphone ). Calls are charged at local rates. See for full details. What information do I need to claim? For Tax Credits for the tax year 2016 to 2017, you will need to provide: ydetails of your earnings and income (and those of your partner) for the last tax year (6 April 2015 to 5 April 2016) yyour National Insurance number (and that of your partner) ydetails of any benefits you get ydetails of any childcare payments you make Awards for the current tax year are based on a predicted estimate of your income that year. As this is not yet a known quantity, the estimate is, to begin with, based on your actual income in the previous tax year. This sounds confusing but it all works out in the end, because after the current tax year has ended, your final award is based on your actual income in that year. To help you claim, you should keep any information about your earnings and income during the previous tax year and the current tax year. For example, you should keep: yyour P60 tax certificate given to you by your employer after the end of the tax year, and your tax form P11D (if you receive one) yany statements your bank and/or building society send you of taxable interest received in that year ydetails of your taxable profits or losses for that year, if you are self-employed Will the amount I receive change when Universal Credit comes in? Once Universal Credit has been fully introduced and you are eligible to claim it, a change in your circumstances may mean that you need to claim Universal Credit, instead of Working Tax Credit. This could happen if you lose your job. It is not possible to claim Tax Credits at the same time as Universal Credit, so when you move onto Universal Credit, your Tax Credit entitlement will end. Your Tax Credit award will be finalised at this point, rather than waiting for the final review at the end of the tax year. Find out more: see our information sheet Universal Credit. 3

4 More information and support For more information on rights and benefits, you can contact the Parkinson s UK helpline on (calls are free from UK landlines and most mobile networks) or hello@parkinsons.org.uk We also have information sheets on other benefits you may be entitled to. You can download these from our website at parkinsons.org.uk/publications or call our helpline. We run a peer support service if you d like to talk on the phone with someone affected by Parkinson s who has faced similar issues to you. The service is free and confidential ring the helpline to talk to someone about being matched with a volunteer. Our helpline can also put you in touch with one of our Parkinson's local advisers, who give one-to-one information and support to anyone affected by Parkinson s. They can also provide links to local groups and services. We also have a self-management programme for people with Parkinson s, partners and carers. It is an opportunity to reflect on life with the condition, learn about self-management and think about the future. To find out if there is a group near you visit parkinsons.org.uk/selfmanagement Our website parkinsons.org.uk has a lot of information about Parkinson s and everyday life with the condition. You can also find details of your local support team and your nearest local group meeting at parkinsons.org.uk/localtoyou You can also visit parkinsons.org.uk/forum to speak with other people in a similar situation on our online discussion forum. Parkinson s nurses Parkinson s nurses provide expert advice and support to people with Parkinson s and those who care for them. They can also make contact with other health and social care professionals to make sure your needs are met. The role of the Parkinson s nurse varies. Each will offer different services, aiming to meet local needs. Some nurses are based in the community, whereas others are based in hospital settings. Many Parkinson s nurses are independent prescribers. This means they can prescribe and make adjustments to medication, so someone with Parkinson s doesn t always need to see their specialist for changes to or queries about their Parkinson s drugs. Parkinson s nurses may not be available in every area, but your GP or specialist can give you more details on local services. You can find out more at parkinsons.org.uk/nurses 4

5 Thank you Thank you to Disability Rights UK for updating this information sheet. Disability Rights UK also have a wide range of online factsheets relating to disability-related issues including Access to Work, education, the Blue Badge scheme, independent living and disabled facilities grants. Visit their website: Working Tax Credit (2016) If you have comments or suggestions about this information sheet, we d love to hear from you. This will help us ensure that we are providing as good a service as possible. We d be very grateful if you could complete this form and return it to Editorial and Creative Services, Parkinson s UK, 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ. Or you can us at publications@parkinsons.org.uk. Thanks! Please tick... I have Parkinson s. When were you diagnosed?... I m family/a friend/a carer of someone with Parkinson s I m a professional working with people with Parkinson s Where did you get this information sheet from? GP, specialist or Parkinson s nurse Parkinson's local adviser Parkinson s UK local group or event Ordered from us directly Our website Other... How useful have you found the information sheet? (1 is not useful, 4 is very useful) Have you found the publication easy to read/use? Yes No What aspects did you find most helpful? Were you looking for any information that wasn t covered? Do you have any other comments? If you would like to become a member of Parkinson s UK, or are interested in joining our information review group, please complete the details below and we ll be in touch. Membership Information review group (who give us feedback on new and updated resources) Name... Address... Telephone What is your ethnic background? Asian/Asian British Black/Black British White Mixed/multiple ethnic backgrounds Other (please specify)... 5

6 We re the Parkinson s charity that drives better care, treatments and quality of life. Together we can bring forward the day when no one fears Parkinson s. Can you help? At Parkinson's UK, we are totally dependent on donations from individuals and organisations to fund the work that we do. There are many ways that you can help us to support people with Parkinson's. If you would like to get involved, please contact our Supporter Services team on or visit our website at parkinsons.org.uk/support. Thank you. Parkinson s UK Free confidential helpline Monday to Friday 9am 7pm, Saturday 10am 2pm. Interpreting available. Text Relay (for textphone users only) hello@parkinsons.org.uk parkinsons.org.uk How to order our resources resources@parkinsons.org.uk Download them from our website at parkinsons.org.uk/publications We make every effort to make sure that our services provide up-to-date, unbiased and accurate information. We hope that this will add to any professional advice you receive and will help you to make any decisions you may face. Please do continue to talk to your health and social care team if you are worried about any aspect of living with Parkinson s. Last updated May Next update available June WB04 Parkinson s UK, May Parkinson s UK is the operating name of the Parkinson s Disease Society of the United Kingdom. A charity registered in England and Wales (258197) and in Scotland (SC037554).