Allowances: See Applicable Amount.

Alternative Benefit: If you do not qualify for Council Tax Benefit in your own right, because your income is too high etc, you may still be able to get Council Tax Benefit on 25% of your actual Council Tax Liability. This Alternative Benefit applies if there are adults (other than your partner) living in your household and on a low income. See the calculation page for details of whether you qualify for this or not.

Applicable Amount: This amount is set by the Government and represents the minimum income level for your family. This amount is used by the Council to work out your Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit. Normally if your income is below this minimum level you will receive maximum Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit (this depends on other factors like Non Dependant deductions, please see later section). If your income is above this level the amount of Benefit you will receive is reduced depending on how much higher your income is than your applicable amount, this is called means testing. Your applicable amount is made up of allowances which are for you and your partner. Added to this are certain premiums related to your family's circumstances which include the number of children in the family, and whether anyone in the household is disabled or a pensioner. See the allowances and premiums page for details of the applicable amount for your family. Also see the Calculation page for details of how much benefit you are currently entitled to.

Carer/Cared For: These indicators are used to give certain premiums within your calculation for benefit. To be considered a carer you must be receiving invalid care allowance. To be considered cared for, someone must be receiving invalid care allowance for caring for you.

Claim Number: This is the unique number the Council uses for your individual claim for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit. This claim number will not change despite any moves within this area.

Council Tax Account Number: This is a unique number assigned by the Council to identify an individual Council Tax payer. This account number will not normally change whilst you live in this area.

Council Tax Benefit: This is an award made by the Council based on your income and applicable amount to help with your Council Tax Payments. If you are entitled, the award is provisionally made for the year but is subject to change throughout the year e.g. if your circumstances change this could affect the amount of Council Tax Benefit you are entitled to. See also Alternative Council Tax Benefit in this glossary.

Creditor Number: This is a unique number used to identify a payee for Rent Allowance. This is the payment of Housing Benefit for Private Tenants.

Date Presented: This is the date a Housing Benefit cheque or BACS payment is received by the bank.

Disability Status: Certain circumstances of a family member may mean that, under the Housing and Council Tax Benefit regulations, a person may be considered as disabled, severely disabled or blind. This will mean that a special premium may be given as part of the applicable amount used in the calculation of benefit.

Disregards: When working out the income to be taken into account for the Housing and Council Tax Benefit calculation, certain amounts are disregarded. These amounts are prescribed by the Government. For example certain disability benefits are ignored and an amount of earnings is discounted dependent on family circumstances. Check the calculation page to see how much of your income is disregarded, you can also check the income calculation page for a breakdown of these amounts.

Eligible Rent/Council Tax: This is the amount of rent or council tax we use to work out your benefit, it may be less than the amount charged. This mainly affects rent. For example, if the rent your landlord charges includes payments for services such as water or electricity, these are ineligible for Housing Benefit so your rent is reduced. The rent may also be reduced if the Rent Officer has told us that your rent is too high or your home is larger than your family needs. See the calculation page for details of your eligible Rent and Council Tax.

Excess Income: This is the amount of your income above your applicable amount. For Housing Benefit 65% (20% for Council Tax Benefit) of the excess is used in the calculation. It is then taken from the maximum benefit you could receive to work out your actual entitlement.

Forwarding Name and Address: This is any name and address the Council are using to address your correspondence to. For example you may have moved or you may have someone dealing with these matters for you.

Housing Benefit: This is an award made by the Council based on your income and family circumstances to help with your rent. The award is subject to change at any time if your income or circumstances change.

Income: The amount of income you receive will affect the amount of benefit you can get. This includes all types of income from earnings and other benefits to capital. With capital an assumed interest amount is taken called tariff income. £1 per week is added to your income for every £250 of capital over £6000. However, if you or your partner are 60 or over then £1 per week is added to your income for every £500 of capital over £6000.

Maximum Housing/Council Tax Benefit: This is the maximum amount of benefit you could get if your income and family circumstances allowed. It is the eligible rent/council tax less any non-dependant deductions. This is the amount you would get if you were in receipt of Income Support, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance or Guarantee Credit. See the calculation page for details of your maximum benefit.

Non Dependant Deductions: Any adult living in your property that is not in full time education is assumed to contribute to the household financially, at varying rates depending on their income. For details of any non dependant deductions made in the calculation of your benefit see the calculation page.

Paid to Date: This is the date up to which your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit is currently paid.

Payee: This is the person that will receive cheques or BACS payments for your Housing Benefit. Payment can be made directly to you or your landlord.

Payment Frequency: This is how often your Housing Benefit payments are made. The law states that Housing Benefit paid to landlords has to be paid every four weeks in arrears known as lunar monthly.

Payment in Arrears: This is whether your payments for Housing Benefit are paid in arrears. Since October 1996 all new cases must be paid in arrears.

Payment Number: This is the cheque number or BACS reference for your Housing Benefit Payment.

Premiums: See Applicable Amounts.

Property Reference Number: This is the unique number that relates to the property you are currently living in and is used in conjunction with your Council Tax Account number.