There is a wide range of disability-related financial support, including benefits, tax credits, payments, grants and concessions.

The main disability and sickness benefits are:

• Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance

Depending on your circumstances, you might also be able to get:

• Industrial Injuries Benefit if you’re disabled as a result of work
• Constant Attendance Allowance if you need daily care and attention because of a disability

Vehicles and transport

If you’re disabled you can apply for the following:

• exemption from paying vehicle tax
• parking benefits - Blue Badge
• disabled persons bus pass or railcard
• help to buy or lease a car from The Motability Scheme

Home and housing

If you’ve been assessed by your local council as needing care and support services, you can get:

• Direct payments - allowing you to buy in and arrange help yourself instead of getting it directly from social services
• Disabled Facilities Grants - which is money towards the costs of home adaptations to enable you to continue living there

If you’re on a low income you may also be entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction from your local council.

On a low salary

If you’re working and on a low salary, you can get extra money to:

• top up your salary - eg Income Support and Working Tax Credit
• pay towards costs for special equipment at work and travel - eg Access to Work

VAT relief on certain goods and services

You don’t have to pay VAT on certain goods and services if they’re just for your own use and you’re disabled or have a long term illness.

If you’ve served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces

If you’ve been injured or disabled while serving in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, you may be able to get:

• War Disablement Pension
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Disability Living Allowance for children

Disability Living Allowance for children (DLA) is a tax-free benefit for children under 16 to help with the extra costs caused by long-term ill health or a disability.

Disability Living Allowance for adults

Personal Independence Payment is gradually replacing DLA for people aged 16 to 64 with long-term ill health or a disability.

Personal Independence Payment

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a tax-free benefit for people aged 16 to 64 to help with the extra costs caused by long term ill-health or a disability.

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance is a tax-free benefit for people aged 65 or over who have a disability and need someone to help look after them.

Employment and Support Allowance

You may be able to get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you can’t work because of illness or disability.

Carers

Carer's Allowance is extra money to help you look after someone with substantial caring needs.

You could also get Carer's Credit so there won't be any gaps in your National Insurance record if you have to take on caring responsibilities.

Blue Badge parking scheme

The Blue Badge scheme provides a range of parking benefits for disabled people with severe walking difficulties who travel either as drivers or as passengers.

Vehicle tax exemption

Eligibility

You can apply for exemption from paying vehicle tax if you get the:

• higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement

The vehicle must be registered in the disabled person's name or their nominated driver's name. It must only be used for the disabled person's personal needs. It can't be used by the nominated driver for their own personal use.

How to claim

You claim the exemption when you apply for a tax disc.

You can do this online, by phone, by post or at a Post Office that issues tax discs.

You'll need:

• your exemption certificate serial number
• the surname, date of birth and National Insurance number of the exemption certificate holder

Your exemption certificate must be one of the following:

• certificate of entitlement for DLA
• statement of entitlement for PIP
• annual certificate of entitlement
• DLA404
• MHS330
• WPA0442

You must claim at a Post Office that issues tax discs if you're claiming for a particular vehicle for the first time. You can't do it online or by phone.

Vehicle tax reduction

Eligibility

You can get a 50% reduction in the cost of your tax disc if you get the PIP standard rate mobility component.

How to claim

Send all of the following to DVLA Swansea:

• your statement of entitlement (it’s at the end of your PIP award letter)
• the vehicle registration certificate (V5C)
• a V10 form
• an original MOT or GVT certificate (if your vehicle needs one)
• a cheque or payable order (made out to ‘DVLA, Swansea’) for 50% of the full rate of car tax for the vehicle

DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1DZ

The Motability Scheme

The Motability Scheme can help you with leasing or buying a car, powered wheelchair or scooter. You’ll need to be getting the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement.

VAT relief for vehicles

You may not have to pay VAT on having a vehicle adapted to suit your condition, or on the lease of a Motability vehicle - this is known as VAT relief.

Community and public transport

Your local council may operate dial-a-ride or taxi schemes, for example, using vouchers or tokens. You may also be eligible for a bus pass and/or Disabled Persons Railcard.

Direct Payments - arranging your own care and services

If you’ve been assessed by your local council as needing care and support services, you may want to choose Direct Payments. They allow you to buy in and arrange help yourself instead of receiving it directly from your local council.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Disabled Facilities Grants are local council grants. It helps towards the cost of essential adaptations to your home to enable you to continue to live there.

Council Tax

You may be entitled to a reduction in your Council Tax bill if your home has certain features that are essential to you living there.

For example, if you have an extension for a downstairs bedroom, this will increase the size of your property and you may have to pay more Council Tax. However, if the room has been built because of your disability, you can get your new higher rate of Council Tax reduced, so you pay the same as before.

Housing and Council Tax Reduction

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction are paid by local councils.

You can claim Housing Benefit if you are on a low income and paying rent.

Contact your local council if you want to apply for Council Tax Reduction.

Work schemes

There are a number of work schemes to help disabled people into employment. Access to Work is one scheme that can provide you with practical support in work. This includes paying towards:

• special equipment
• a support worker
• the additional costs of travel to work for you if you are unable to use public transport

Getting extra money

Income Support

You can claim Income Support if you’re:

• between 16 and 60
• on a low income
• not working or working on average less than 16 hours a week

You may qualify for the following disability premiums:

• disability premium
• severe disability premium
• enhanced disability premium

You will also automatically qualify for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction and may receive help towards health costs, such as prescriptions.

Working Tax Credit

If you’re in work but on low pay, you can apply for Working Tax Credit to top-up your earnings. You may get extra if someone in your household is disabled.

Blind Person’s Allowance

The Blind Person’s Allowance allows you to receive an amount of income without having to pay tax. It’s added to your personal tax allowance.

You can get 50% off the cost of your TV licence if either:

• you’re registered blind or severely sight impaired
• you live with someone who is registered blind or severely sight impaired

If the person who is registered blind is not the current licence holder for your address, you’ll need to transfer the licence to their name.

You can do this by contacting TV Licensing:

TV Licensing
Telephone: 0300 790 6071
Minicom: 0300 790 6050
Find out about call charges

How to apply

To claim the TV licence concession for blind people, you’ll need to get a certificate from your local authority or ophthalmologist stating that you are registered blind or severely sight impaired.

In Northern Ireland, the certificate or document must be issued by or on behalf of a Health and Social Services Trust. On the Isle of Man, it must be issued by or on behalf of the Department for Health and Social Services.

Post a copy of the certificate along with your licence renewal notice - if you have one - and a cheque or postal order for the licence to:

TV Licensing
Blind Concession Group
Bristol
BS98 1TL

Remember to include your name, address, phone number and TV licence number, if you have one.

If you’re disabled or have a long-term illness, you won’t be charged VAT on products designed or adapted for your own personal or domestic use. Also, you won’t be charged VAT on:

• the installation and any extra work needed as part of this
• repairs or maintenance
• spare parts or accessories

The product and your disability have to qualify.

Qualifying products or services

Your supplier can tell you, but usually products designed or adapted for a disability qualify. For example, certain types of:

• adjustable beds
• stair lifts
• wheelchairs
• medical appliances to help with severe injuries
• alarms
• braille paper or low vision aids - but not spectacles or contact lenses
• motor vehicles - or the leasing of a motability vehicle
• building work like ramps, widening doors, installing a lift or toilet

How to get the product VAT free

To get the product VAT free your disability has to qualify. For VAT purposes, you’re disabled or have a long-term illness if:

• you have a physical or mental impairment that affects your ability to carry out everyday activities - eg blindness
• you have a condition that’s treated as chronic sickness, like diabetes
• you’re terminally ill

You don’t qualify if you’re elderly but able-bodied, or if you’re temporarily disabled.

You’ll need to confirm in writing that you meet these conditions. Your supplier may give you a form for this.

Help from your council

You can apply to your council for equipment or help to adapt your home if you have a disability.

Importing goods

You don't pay VAT if you import qualifying goods that are for your own personal or domestic use. This includes certain goods for blind and partially sighted people.

If you use a freight service they can help you with the paperwork, otherwise make sure the following is written on parcel, ‘Goods for disabled people: relief claimed’.

If you bring them in yourself, declare them in the red channel at Customs. For any other method of import, contact the National Import Reliefs Unit.

National Import Reliefs Unit
028 6634 4557
Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

You may be entitled to get Industrial Injuries Benefit if you’re disabled as a result of:

• an accident at work
• a disease
• deafness caused by work

Constant Attendance Allowance

You can claim Constant Attendance Allowance if you need daily care and attention because of a disability and you claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

War Disablement Pension

You may be able to claim War Disablement Pension if you’ve been injured or disabled:

• during a time of war
• as a result of service in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces before 6 April 2005

You can’t claim if you’re still serving in the Armed Forces.

Constant Attendance Allowance

You can claim Constant Attendance Allowance if you need daily care and attention because of a disability and you get War Disablement Pension.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

You may be entitled to Armed Forces Compensation Scheme if you’re injured, or have an illness as a result of service in the Armed Forces on or after 6 April 2005.

The War Disablement Pension compensates for any injury, illness or death which occurs up to 6 April 2005.