Children's Handbook Scotland | 2021/22Chapter 9: Adoption 3. Benefits and tax credits once you have adopted a child
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3. Benefits and tax credits once you have adopted a child
This section describes what happens to benefits and tax credits once an adoption order has been granted in your favour by the court.
Child benefit
Once you have adopted a child, you can claim, or continue to claim, child benefit, provided you satisfy the normal rules set out on here.
Any adoption allowance you receive does not affect child benefit.
Statutory adoption pay, statutory paternity pay and statutory shared parental pay
See here for when you can claim statutory adoption pay (SAP), statutory paternity pay (SPP) and statutory shared parental pay (SSPP).
Means-tested benefits
Universal credit
Once you have adopted a child and s/he is no longer ‘looked after’ by the local authority, your universal credit (UC) includes the child element for her/him, providing you are ‘responsible’ for her/him. The ‘two-child limit’ (see here) does not apply if you adopt a child (agency adoption). This means that even if you already have two or more dependent children and you adopt a child born on or after 6 April 2017, you can get the child element in your UC for the child who has come to live with you, providing you satisfy the normal conditions of entitlement.1Sch 12 para 3 UC Regs You count as responsible for her/him if s/he normally lives with you.2Reg 4(2) UC Regs If you subsequently give birth to a child, the child placed for adoption is ‘disregarded’ when applying the two-child limit.3Reg 24A(1)(za) UC Regs The amount of housing costs element you get in your UC reflects the number of bedrooms you need, including for the child you have adopted. Your work allowance should reflect the fact you have a dependent child (see here). If you are working, you may be entitled to help with childcare costs (see here). If you are a single person, for the first 12 months after the child has been placed with you, you are not subject to any work-related requirements. If you are a couple, the person who is the main carer for the child is not subject to any work-related requirements.4Reg 89(1)(d) and (3) UC Regs and s19(6) WRA 2012 Any adoption allowance you receive does not count as income for UC.5Reg 66 UC Regs
 
1     Sch 12 para 3 UC Regs »
2     Reg 4(2) UC Regs »
3     Reg 24A(1)(za) UC Regs »
4     Reg 89(1)(d) and (3) UC Regs and s19(6) WRA 2012 »
5     Reg 66 UC Regs »
Income support
Note: if you are not already getting income support (IS), you will not be able to claim it because of the introduction of UC.
Once you have adopted a child, s/he counts as part of your household for IS purposes, provided you are treated as responsible for her/him. You are responsible for the child if:1Reg 15 IS Regs
    •you get child benefit for her/him; or
    •no one gets child benefit for her/him and s/he usually lives with you, or you are the only person who has claimed child benefit for her/him.
If you have adopted a child aged under five and you do not have a partner, you count as a lone parent for IS purposes. This means you may be able to get IS, provided you satisfy the other rules (see here).
If you are not getting any amount in your IS for a child and you are claiming child tax credit (CTC), any adoption allowance paid for a child you have adopted is disregarded for IS.2Sch 9 para 25(1)(a) IS Regs
 
1     Reg 15 IS Regs »
2     Sch 9 para 25(1)(a) IS Regs »
Employment and support allowance
If you are getting income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) when you adopt a child, your income-related ESA may not be affected, although if you claim UC, your income-related ESA will stop.
Any adoption allowance paid for a child you have adopted is disregarded for income-related ESA.1Sch 8 para 26(1)(a) ESA Regs
Contributory ESA is not means-tested and therefore is not affected by any adoption allowance you receive.
 
1     Sch 8 para 26(1)(a) ESA Regs »
Jobseeker’s allowance
Note: if you are not already getting income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), you will not be able to claim it because of the introduction of UC.
Once you have adopted a child, the child counts as part of your household for JSA purposes, provided you are treated as responsible for her/him. You are responsible for the child if:1Reg 77 JSA Regs
    •you get child benefit for her/him; or
    •no one gets child benefit for her/him and s/he usually lives with you, or you are the only person who has claimed child benefit for her/him.
If you are not getting any amount in your income-based JSA for a child and you are claiming CTC, any adoption allowance paid for a child you have adopted is disregarded for JSA.2Sch 7 para 26(1)(a) JSA Regs
 
1     Reg 77 JSA Regs »
2     Sch 7 para 26(1)(a) JSA Regs »
Pension credit
You can get pension credit (PC) if you satisfy the rules set out on here. Some PC claimants who are responsible for a child or qualifying young person get an additional amount for her/him in their PC (instead of CTC). Once you have adopted a child and s/he is no longer ‘looked after’ by the local authority, you can get the additional amount (see here) providing the child is normally living with you and you are not getting CTC for her/him.1Sch 2A para 3 SPC Regs If you are paid an adoption allowance, it is disregarded as income for PC purposes.2s15 SPCA 2002
 
1     Sch 2A para 3 SPC Regs »
2     s15 SPCA 2002 »
Housing benefit and council tax reduction
Note: if you are not already on housing benefit (HB), you are likely to have to claim UC instead, unless you are over pension age or in living in certain types of accommodation.
Once you have adopted a child, s/he counts as part of your household for HB/council tax reduction (CTR) purposes, provided you are treated as responsible for her/him. You are responsible for the child if s/he normally lives with you. If there is any doubt, s/he is treated as living with you if:1HB Reg 20 HB Regs; reg 20 HB(SPC) Regs
CTR Reg 10 CTR(S) Regs; reg 10 CTR(SPC)(S) Regs
    •you get child benefit for her/him; or
    •no one gets child benefit but you have claimed it; or
    •no one has claimed child benefit, or more than one person has claimed it, but you appear to have most responsibility.
Adopting a child can change the amount of HB/CTR you get. The reasons why HB/CTR entitlement might change include the following.
    •Being responsible for a child increases your applicable amount (see here). This is the figure used to calculate how much HB/CTR you get.
    •If your HB is calculated on the basis of a ‘local housing allowance’ (this only affects tenants in the private rented sector), the local housing allowance that applies to you might change. See here for more information.
    •You may have childcare costs, which can be allowed for in the HB/CTR calculation.
    •If you are under pension age and live in the social rented sector, your HB may be reduced because you are considered to be under-occupying your accommodation (see here). This may change when you adopt a child.
Any adoption allowance you are paid is disregarded in full for HB and CTR.2HB Sch 5 para 25(1)(a) HB Regs; reg 29 HB(SPC) Regs
CTR Sch 4 para 29(1)(a) CTR(S) Regs; reg 27(1) CTR(SPC)(S) Regs
 
1     HB Reg 20 HB Regs; reg 20 HB(SPC) Regs
CTR Reg 10 CTR(S) Regs; reg 10 CTR(SPC)(S) Regs
 »
2     HB Sch 5 para 25(1)(a) HB Regs; reg 29 HB(SPC) Regs
CTR Sch 4 para 29(1)(a) CTR(S) Regs; reg 27(1) CTR(SPC)(S) Regs
 »
Scottish child payment
If you adopt a child, you can get Scottish child payment for the child if you satisfy the conditions of entitlement (see here).
Non-means-tested benefits
Disability living allowance and child disability payment
If the child you have adopted gets disability living allowance (DLA) or child disability payment (CDP), s/he keeps getting it. If a child under 16 gets DLA, an adult is appointed to act on her/his behalf. That person receives payment of the child’s DLA. The appointee is usually the child’s parent. When a child comes to live with you, you can apply to become the appointee by writing to the Disability Benefit Centre (see Appendix 1), giving the child’s name, date of birth and reference number if you have it (you will find it on any letters from the Disability Benefit Centre about the DLA). Also provide your details (name, address, date of birth and national insurance number) and explain the circumstances. Once you have adopted a child and have parental rights and responsibilities, you are responsible for your child’s CDP without having to be appointed by Social Security Scotland.1s85A SS(S)A 2018
 
1     s85A SS(S)A 2018 »
Carer’s allowance
If the child you adopt is getting the middle or highest rate care component of DLA or CDP, you may be able to claim carer’s allowance (CA), provided you satisfy the normal rules (see here). You cannot get CA if you are ‘gainfully employed’ – ie, if you are earning more than £128 a week. Adoption allowance does not count as earnings for this purpose,1Regs 9 and 12 SSB(CE) Regs although SAP, SPP and SSPP do count as earnings.2Reg 9(1)(j) SSB(CE) Regs
If you are entitled to CA and you also get UC, IS, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, UC, PC or HB/CTR, you should get the carer element, carer premium or carer addition in your applicable amount.
 
1     Regs 9 and 12 SSB(CE) Regs »
2     Reg 9(1)(j) SSB(CE) Regs »
Tax credits
Note: you cannot make a new claim for tax credits because of the introduction of UC. See here for more details. The information in this section applies to you if you are already getting tax credits.
Once you have adopted a child, you can count as responsible for her/him for tax credits purposes – ie, you can claim tax credits in respect of her/him.
Child tax credit
You can claim CTC for the child you have adopted, provided you satisfy the normal rules explained on here. The ‘two-child limit’ (see here) does not apply if you adopt a child (agency adoption). This means that even if you already have two or more dependent children and you adopt a child born on or after 6 April 2017, you can get the child element in your CTC for the child you have adopted, providing you satisfy the normal conditions of entitlement.1Reg 11 CTC Regs If you subsequently give birth to a child, the child placed for adoption is ‘disregarded’ when applying the two-child limit.2Reg 9 CTC Regs
 
1     Reg 11 CTC Regs »
2     Reg 9 CTC Regs »
Working tax credit
To get working tax credit (WTC) you, or your partner, must be in full-time paid work. If you are responsible for at least one dependent child (see here), full-time paid work means at least 16 hours a week if you are a single claimant and usually means 24 hours a week if you are a couple (see here).
If, as a result of adopting a child, you pay a childminder, nursery or other childcare provider, you may become entitled to an increased amount of WTC (see here).
You are treated as being in full-time paid work during any period when you are being paid SAP, SPP or SSPP and during any period when you are absent from work during adoption or paternity leave or during statutory shared parental leave during which you could have received SSPP, provided you were in qualifying remunerative work before you went on adoption/paternity/shared parental leave,1Reg 5 WTC(EMR) Regs or would have counted as being in qualifying remunerative work if you had been responsible for a child.2Reg 5A WTC (EMR) Regs
Any adoption allowance you are paid is disregarded for tax credits.3Reg 19 Table 6 para 11(a) TC(DCI) Regs £100 a week of SAP/SPP/SSPP is disregarded for tax credits.4Reg 4(1)(h) TC(DCI) Regs
 
1     Reg 5 WTC(EMR) Regs »
2     Reg 5A WTC (EMR) Regs »
3     Reg 19 Table 6 para 11(a) TC(DCI) Regs »
4     Reg 4(1)(h) TC(DCI) Regs »
Other benefits
Best Start grant
You can qualify for a Best Start grant pregnancy and baby payment if you adopt a child aged under 12 months. You must claim before the child is one year old.1Sch 2 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs You cannot claim a pregnancy and baby payment if you already received the payment when the child was placed for adoption (see here).2Sch 2 para 1 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs The payment is £606, or £303 if you have another child under 16 in your household.3Sch 2 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs
If you adopt an older child, you may be entitled to an early learning payment or a school-age payment (see here). You can get a Best Start grant for the child even if someone else (eg, the birth mother) has already received a Best Start grant for the child.4Sch 2, 3 and 4 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs
 
1     Sch 2 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs »
2     Sch 2 para 1 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs »
3     Sch 2 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs »
4     Sch 2, 3 and 4 EYA(BSG)(S) Regs »
Health benefits
Adopting a child may mean you become entitled to health benefits. If you have adopted a child aged under three, you may be entitled to help under the Best Start food scheme payment card for fruit, vegetables and milk (see here).
Children are automatically entitled to free dental treatment and vouchers for glasses.