Benefit/tax credit | Backdating |
Attendance allowance | No backdating. |
Carer’s allowance | Up to three months. No special reasons required. If you claim within three months of the person you care for being awarded DLA care component (middle or highest rate), PIP daily living component or AA, CA can be backdated to the date DLA, PIP or AA was awarded. |
Child benefit | Up to three months. No special reasons required. Backdating may not be possible, however, if someone else was getting child benefit for the child during the three-month period. |
Disability living allowance | No backdating. |
Employment and support allowance | Up to three months. No special reasons required. |
Guardian’s allowance | Up to three months. No special reasons required. |
Health benefits – eg, free dental treatment | If you pay for an item that you could have got free or at a reduced cost, you can apply for a refund. You should do so within three months of paying for the item, although this time limit can be extended if you show good cause. |
Housing benefit/council tax reduction | If under pension age, up to one month for HB and six months for CTR if you can show continuous good cause. If you have reached pension age and neither you nor your partner are on income support (IS), income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance or universal credit, up to three months and no special reasons required. |
Income support | In prescribed circumstances, up to one month, and in other prescribed circumstances, up to three months. Backdating for more than three months is possible if a qualifying benefit, such as PIP or DLA, has been awarded and an earlier claim for IS was refused. |
Jobseeker’s allowance | In prescribed circumstances, up to one month, and in other prescribed circumstances, up to three months. Backdating for more than three months is possible if a qualifying benefit, such as DLA, has been awarded, and an earlier claim for JSA was refused. |
Pension credit | Up to three months. No special reasons required. |
Personal independence payment | No backdating. |
Scottish child payment | It is expected that there will be no backdating. |
Statutory adoption and paternity pay | Usually, you must give your employer 28 days’ notice. If you are not able to do so, and your employer accepts you gave notice as soon as reasonably practicable, statutory adoption/paternity pay can be paid from the date you have chosen to start your adoption/paternity leave. |
Statutory shared parental pay | Usually, you must give your employer eight weeks’ notice before the start of the period for which you want to claim. |
Tax credits | Up to one month. No special reasons required. |
Universal credit | In prescribed circumstances, up to one month. |