Council Tax support:
We are consulting on potential changes to Council Tax support. Have your say before 9 November 2026.
How we work out your Housing Benefit
A guide to how we work out your Housing Benefit.
Your capital - savings, investments and property
The savings, investments and property that you and/or your partner may have are known as your capital.
Examples of capital include:
- money in a bank, building society or post office account
- stocks and shares
- Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
- Premium Bonds
- Income Bonds and Capital Bonds
- other land and property
Tariff income
Depending on the value of your capital, we may increase the income we take into account when deciding your benefits. This is called a tariff income.
For Housing Benefit, if you have capital between £6,000 and £16,000, we will add £1 a week to your income for every £250 you have.
If you have more than £16,000
If you have more than £16,000, you will not be able to get Housing Benefit unless you or your partner receives a Guaranteed Pension Credit.
If you or your partner are of pensionable age
If you or your partner are of pensionable age, then we will not include capital under £10,000. For anything over £10,000 to £16,000 we will add £1 a week to your income for every £500 of capital.