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SOME LOCAL AUTHORITIES COUNT PEOPLE'S PIP AS INCOME WHEN WORKING OUT IF SOMEONE CAN GET COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT 12:59, 02 Jun 2025Updated 13:04, 02 Jun 2025 DWP PIP claimants are calling

for major changes to council tax rules so their benefit payments are not regarded as income. Low-income households can get their bills reduced, sometimes by 100 per cent, if they qualify for

Council Tax Support, also known as Council Tax Reduction. This is a means-tested scheme and a number of PIP claimants have found their payments are counted as income, therefore lowering or

cancelling out the reduction they feel they are entitled to receive. READ MORE: A new petition, titled 'Ban councils considering PIP/DLA as income for council tax reduction

schemes', is trying to gather enough support for the Government to consider the issue. Article continues below It wants Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance to

be disregarded from the means-testing calculations because both benefits are not themselves means-tested. Posted on the official UK Government and Parliament Petitions site, it says:

"Stop councils including Personal Independence Payment/DLA as income for council tax reduction schemes. "I don't think this should count as income for tax reduction schemes as

Personal Independence Payment/DLA is a non-means-tested benefit and not taxable. I don't believe it is fair to count this as income when this money is used by a lot of disabled people

for their disability needs." If the petition gains 10,000 signatures, the DWP will issue a response and if it accumulates 100,000 names, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

There is no national legislation for how Council Tax Reduction or Council Tax Support works. Each local authority sets its own criteria. But many people moving across to Universal Credit are

also finding the amount of help they get is much less than on legacy benefits. Concerns over PIP being classed as income when working out additional discounts on council tax bills have

arisen as claimants await the impact of new eligibility restrictions set to start in November 2026. After that cut-off point, people will need to get at least one score of four in the

activities assessed for the daily living element of PIP. This will apply to all new applicants as well as existing claimants whose PIP award is up for review. By 2029/2030, it's

estimated that 370,000 PIP claimants will have lost the daily living element of the benefit, while 430,000 new applicants won't qualify for it under the changes. Join our dedicated

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