Disability and tax credits

The disability elements of working tax credit

There were two elements of working tax credit that provided additional financial support for people with disabilities or long-term health problems. These were called the disability element and the severe disability element. You could get both elements, depending on your circumstances. The disability element was for people who were working, and the severe disability element was for people who were either working or, if they were part of a joint claim, who were not working but their partner was working.

Qualifying for the disability element

For the disability element to be included in an award of working tax credit, you had to meet all three conditions for each day of the award. If you were part of a couple, and you both individually met all three conditions, you should have had two disability elements included in your award.

Condition 1: the claimant must work at least 16 hours a week

If you were part of a couple, the partner who met conditions 2 and 3 (the person with the disability) had to work at least 16 hours a week.

The disability element was only included for claimants who were working. This means that if you were part of a couple and the non-disabled partner was the worker, then you could not get the disability element but you may have qualified for the severe disability element (see below).

Condition 2: the claimant’s disability puts them at a disadvantage in getting a job

You must have had one of a number of disabilities listed in HMRC’s TC956 checklist.

Condition 3: the claimant must be on (or have previously received) a qualifying benefit

The list of qualifying benefits was on HMRC’s TC956 checklist. Again, you only needed to be getting (or previously in receipt of) one of these.

Claiming the disability element from 6 April 2025

No tax credit awards are in payment after 5 April 2025 as the tax credits system has closed down.

However if you are still waiting for a decision on one of the qualifying disability benefits mentioned at condition 3 above, you may be entitled to the disability element for 2024/2025 and earlier periods. This may be the case where the start date of that disability benefit goes back to a time when you were entitled to tax credits. You must notify HMRC within one month of the date your disability benefit decision is made and, if you do, they will re-calculate your previous tax credit awards and pay you any money owed where it leads to a higher award. HMRC say they will usually look to offset any underpayments against any tax credit overpayments. The newly recalculated award may also be sent to DWP which could lead to a recalculation of any transitional protection in place.

Qualifying for the severe disability element of working tax credit

The severe disability element was an extra element included in a working tax credit award where certain conditions were met. The severe disability element was included even if you did not qualify for the disability element.

To have the severe disability element included in your WTC award, you (or your partner) must have been getting:

• the highest rate of disability living allowance (DLA) care component, or
• the enhanced rate daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP), or
• higher rate attendance allowance (AA), or
• armed forces independence payment (AFIP), or
• the enhanced rate daily living component of Adult Disability Payment under Scottish disability assistance, or
• have reached state pension age and receive the higher rate of Scottish disability assistance.

If payment of these benefits were suspended while you were in hospital, you still qualified for the severe disability element.

For couples where both claimants met these conditions, two severe disability elements were included in the award.

  There are various rates of DLA and PIP. It is only the highest rates for care or daily living that counted for the severe disability element. 

Claiming the severe disability element from 6 April 2025

No tax credit awards are in payment after 5 April 2025 as the tax credits system has closed down.

However if you are still waiting for a decision on one of the qualifying disability benefits that qualify you for this element, you may be entitled to the disability element for 2024/2025 and earlier periods. This may be the case where the start date of that disability benefit goes back to a time when you were entitled to tax credits. You must notify HMRC within one month of the date your disability benefit decision is made and, if you do, they will re-calculate your previous tax credit awards and pay you any money owed where it leads to a higher award. HMRC say they will usually look to offset any underpayments against any tax credit overpayments. The newly recalculated award may also be sent to DWP which could lead to a recalculation of any transitional protection in place.

Disabled child element from 6 April 2025

The child disability element was an element of child tax credit that provided additional financial support for children or qualifying young people with disabilities or long-term health problems. It was payable a two different rates – the disabled child rate and the severely disabled child rate. The two child limit did not apply to the child disability element.

For child tax credit, a child or young person was disabled if:

• disability living allowance (DLA) or personal independence payment (PIP) was payable for them, or was normally payable but had ceased because they were a patient in hospital; or
• they were certified as severely sight impaired or blind by a consultation ophthalmologist or had ceased to be certified as blind or severely sight impaired in the last 28 weeks immediately preceding the date of claim
• disability assistance was payable for them (Scotland), or was normally payable but had ceased because they were a patient in hospital.

A child was classed as severely disabled if the care component of DLA or disability assistance (Scotland) was payable for them at the highest rate, an armed forces independence payment (AFIP) or the enhanced daily living component of the PIP, or was abated while they are in hospital.

Scottish disability payments for children (replacing DLA) started to be paid from July 2021.

No tax credit awards are in payment after 5 April 2025 as the tax credits system has closed down.

However if you are still waiting for a decision on a qualifying disability benefit that you have claimed for your child, you may be entitled to the child disability element for 2024/2025 and earlier periods. This may be the case where the start date of that disability benefit goes back to a time when you were entitled to tax credits. You must notify HMRC within one month of the date your disability benefit decision is made and, if you do, they will re-calculate your previous tax credit awards and pay you any money owed where it leads to a higher award. HMRC say they will usually look to offset any underpayments against any tax credit overpayments. The newly recalculated award may also be sent to DWP which could lead to a recalculation of any transitional protection in place.