In this section:
- Which children can you claim tax credits for?
- Help with childcare costs - do you qualify?
- Children with disabilities and tax credits - who qualifies?
- Can you claim tax credits if you're not the child's parent?
- Claiming tax credits if your child lives at more than one address
- Who can claim tax credits if your child has a child?
Children with disabilities and tax credits - who qualifies?
If your child has a disability, or if you're responsible for a child with a disability, you may qualify for extra tax credits, to help cover the cost of looking after them.
Who can get the extra money?
You can get extra tax credits if either:
- you get Disability Living Allowance for your child
- your child is registered blind
- your child came off the blind register in the 28 weeks before you claimed
If your child is severely disabled and gets what's known as the Highest Rate Care Component of Disability Living Allowance you may get an additional payment.
You can still qualify for the extra money even if the Disability Living Allowance stops because your child goes into hospital.
Find out about Disability Living Allowance on the Directgov website
How much will you get?
The amount of extra tax credits you get depends on how much care your child needs. In this tax year - 6 April 2008 to 5 April 2009 - you could get approximately:
- £2,540 a year, that is around £49 a week, if your child is disabled
- £3,560 a year, that is around £68 a week, if your child is severely disabled
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, call the Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900, textphone 0845 300 3909 or use our calculator.
Find out how much you might be entitled to using our tax credits calculator
How to claim
If you're not currently getting tax credits
You need to fill in a claim form, which you can get by ringing the Tax Credit Helpline.
If you've made a claim for Disability Living Allowance for your child, don't wait to hear about that before you send in the form. Just leave Box 2.4 blank and send a letter, with the form, telling us about your claim for Disability Living Allowance. If you are later told that you are entitled to Disability Living Allowance for your child, let us know straight away. If you do this, your extra tax credits payments will be backdated to the earliest possible date.
If you are already getting tax credits
Let us know as soon as you make a claim for Disability Living Allowance for your child. If you are later told that you are entitled to Disability Living Allowance for your child, let us know straight away. If you do this, your extra tax credits payments will be backdated to the earliest possible date.
Contact us
You can contact our Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909 (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm seven days a week except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day).
More useful links
Find more information about caring for a disabled child on the Directgov website
