Report a change in circumstances

Visit Citizen Access - Benefits to complete an change of circumstances form and upload evidence.

Where any additional information is required, we will contact you by telephone, text, email or letter.

Have questions? Get in touch at benefits@gosport.gov.uk

These are some common changes that need to be reported:-

HOUSING BENEFIT (HB)

Your HB claim will need to be updated if your circumstances change. Any changes must be reported within 1 month. Here are some examples of changes that should be reported:-

you (or your partner) start or leave a job
any of your children leave school or leave home
anyone moves into or out of your home (including non-dependents, lodgers and sub-tenants)
if your income, or the income of anyone living with you, goes up or down for any reason
if anyone starts to receive Carer's Allowance for you (or your partner)
your capital, savings or investments change
you or anyone living with you becomes a student, goes into hospital/nursing home or goes into prison.
your rent or your landlord changes
you move address
you (or your partner) are going to be away from home for more than a month
you receive any decision from the Home Office
your contact details change

COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT (CTS)

CTS is assessed using Income Bands, which means we don't need to know about ALL changes. Changes must be reported within 21 days. Here are some examples of changes that should be reported:-

you (or your partner) start or leave a job
any of your children leave school or leave home
if there is a change to your household such as a partner moving in or out or a new baby being born. You don't need to tell us if other adults move in/out
if your (or your partner's) income goes up or down for any reason*
if you (or your partner) start to get, or stop getting, a disability benefit or Carer's Allowance
your (and any partner's) savings/capital goes over £10,000
you move address
you (or your partner) are going to be temporarily absent from your property for more than 4 weeks
you receive any decision from the Home Office
your contact details changes

*You only need to report changes to your household income that will result in a different income band taking effect. See the income bands below for guidance as to whether yours will change

Income Bands


Single Person	Single with 1 Child	Single with 2+ Children	Couple	Couple with 1 Child	Couple with 2+ Children	Amount we will reduce your Council Tax by:
Income Support, Income-Related Job Seekers Allowance or Income-Related Employment Support Allowance						70% (band 1)
£0 to £100	£0 to £160	£0 to £220	£0 to £140	£0 to £205	£0 to £260	70% (band 2)
£100.01 to £180	£160.01 to £240	£220.01 to £295	£140.01 to £240	£205.01 to £281	£260.01 to £340	55% (band 3)
£180.01 to £215	£240.01 to £255	£295.01 to £350	£240.01 to £290	£281.01 to £320	£340.01 to £400	40% (band 4)
£215.01 to £255	£255.01 to £280	£350.01 to £450	£290.01 to £340	£320.01 to £370	£400.01 to £430	25% (band 5)
More than £255	More than £280	More than £450	More than £340	More than £370	More than £430	0% (band 6)

Carers Allowance and the Support component of Employment Support Allowance are not included as income.
If you or your partner work, we will disregard up to £25 from your earnings.
If you, your partner or your child get any of the disability benefits below, we will disregard a further £79.30:

Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment
Support component of Employment Support Allowance
Universal Credit 'Limited Capability for Work' element (at the higher rate)

If you have an adult living with you (who is not your partner), we will not reduce the level of support you are entitled to.
You and/or your partner's capital will not affect the level of support you can receive unless it exceeds £10,000, in which case you will not be eligible.

You can read the full version of the CTS scheme here.

Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2024-25 (PDF) [961KB]

For more information about electronic communications, see the Benefits directive (PDF) [146KB] authorising us to do this.

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Report a change in circumstances

Income Bands