5. Other income

• Income from self-employment
• Savings and investments
• Property
• Maintenance

What follows is a brief outline of how other income is treated. For further details, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (for subscribers).

Income from self-employment

Your taxable profits are taken into account less any personal pension contributions.

Savings and investments

There is no capital limit for tax credits. You are eligible whatever amount of savings you have and whatever the value of other capital. However, income generated from your savings or other capital is taken into account. For example, interest from bank accounts is taken into account, unless it is in a tax-free savings account. However, if you have no income from property or pensions, or foreign income, interest on savings or other capital is only taken into account if it is over £300 a year.

Property

Taxable rental income from property you let to tenants is taken into account, although you can rent a furnished room in your own home for up to £7,500 a year and this rental income is ignored. As with savings and investments, the capital value of any property is ignored, but any taxable rental income is included, although the first £300 of the total income from pensions, income from capital and foreign income is disregarded.1Reg 11 TC(DCI) Regs

 

1     Reg 11 TC(DCI) Regs »

Maintenance

Regular maintenance from an ex-partner is ignored, regardless of how the arrangement was made. Similarly, any support received from an ex-partner for your child(ren) is also ignored.1Reg 19 Table 6 para 10 TC(DCI) Regs

 

1     Reg 19 Table 6 para 10 TC(DCI) Regs »