Check if a change affects your Income Support

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

You must tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about certain changes in your money, work or home life. This is called a ‘change of circumstances’.

You might also need to tell the DWP about changes that affect people you live with or someone you care for - for example, if someone you care for stops getting:

  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

  • Child Disability Payment

  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

  • Adult Disability Payment

  • Attendance Allowance.

Tell them even if it seems like a small change, or if it’s only for a short time. For example, if you’re a single parent and your 4-year-old child temporarily moves in with your ex-partner.

Most changes have to be reported within 1 month, but you should report them sooner if you can.

The change might increase your payment and you might miss out on extra money if you tell the DWP late.

You should still tell the DWP if you think a change might reduce your Income Support - you won't save money by reporting it later. If you tell the DWP late you could get paid too much and have to pay your benefits back to the DWP. This is called an overpayment - check how the DWP deals with overpayments.

If you’ve been told to claim Universal Credit by a certain date

The Department for Work and Pensions are stopping some people’s benefits and telling them to claim Universal Credit instead.

If you get a letter telling you to claim Universal Credit by a certain deadline, this is a ‘migration notice’. You should claim Universal Credit by the deadline in the migration notice. Your old benefits will stop after the deadline.

You might miss out on some money if you apply after the deadline. 

Check what you should do if you get a migration notice.

Changes you have to report

You have to report all these changes to the DWP, even if another government department already knows about them. For example, if you tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about a change that affects your tax credits, you still need to tell the DWP.

If you’ve used the Tell Us Once service to report the death of someone claiming Income Support, you don’t need to tell the DWP. Tell Us Once will let them know. 

Changes to do with your family

Tell the DWP if:

  • you stop living with your partner

  • you start living with a new partner

  • someone over 18 moves in or out, like an adult son or daughter 

  • you get divorced, married or form a civil partnership

  • your partner leaves the UK for more than 4 weeks - or 8 weeks if they're accompanying a child getting medical treatment

  • you or your partner reaches State Pension age - you can check your State Pension age on GOV.UK

  • you or your partner starts studying full-time or, if under 19, starts an advanced education course, for example a degree or teacher training

  • one of you goes to prison

Your children

Tell the DWP if a child you’re responsible for:

  • leaves school

  • moves out of your home

  • leaves the UK for more than 4 weeks - or 8 weeks if it’s to get medical treatment

Health changes

You have to tell the DWP if you or someone you’re claiming Income Support for:

  • goes into hospital

  • goes into a care home

  • comes out of hospital

  • no longer lives in a care home

If someone dies

You’ll need to tell the DWP about the death of:

  • your partner

  • your child

  • someone you were caring for

  • anyone over 18 and living with you

You should also tell them if you’re claiming for a pregnancy and had a miscarriage. A friend can do this for you.

You can use the Tell Us Once service on GOV.UK to tell government departments about a death quickly and easily.

Work and money changes

You have to tell the DWP about some changes to your income or savings. 

Income changes

You must tell the DWP if you, your partner or any children that live with you and have left school:

  • start working (even if it’s not paid)

  • stop working

  • start earning more money

  • start earning less money

If it’s just one payment, or won’t be the same amount regularly, explain how much money you think it will be in total and how long for. If you don’t know the exact amount, work out what you think it might be and tell the DWP it’s an estimate.

If you’ll be earning the same amount regularly, tell the DWP:

  • your employer’s name and address

  • how many hours of work each week

  • how much money you’re earning - before tax and other deductions

  • how much tax and National Insurance is being taken off the money

  • if money is being taken off for a pension, how much it is and who the pension is for

Benefit changes

Tell the DWP if you, your partner or any children that live with you and have left school:

  • claim any new benefits (even if they’re not being paid yet)

  • start getting more or less money - for example from other benefits

  • stop getting a benefit - for example Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), PIP or DLA

Changes to your savings

If your savings were £6,000 or less when you started claiming, tell the DWP if they go up to more than £6,000. This includes any savings your partner has.

If you permanently live in a care home, you’ll only need to tell them when your savings go up to £10,000 or more.

If your savings were between £6,000 and £10,000 when you started claiming, tell the DWP if they go up to more than £10,000. This includes any savings your partner has.

You should tell the DWP if you get a one-off payment, for example if you inherit some money or property, or are paid compensation.

Changes to where you live

Tell the DWP if:

  • you move home

  • someone moves out of your home

  • someone moves into your home

If you have a mortgage, you need to tell the DWP if the amount you owe changes - for example because you re-mortgage - or you take out a loan to do repairs on the house.

Reporting a change of circumstances

It’s best to report the change in writing so you can keep a copy of the letter and send copies of any evidence. For example, copies of your payslips if you’re reporting a change in income.

Write ‘change of circumstances’ clearly at the top of the letter. Give as much information about the change as you can. For example if your partner has moved out, tell the DWP their name, when they moved and what their new address is.

Send your letter by Royal Mail Signed For and keep the receipt - you might need to prove when you posted it and when it arrived. Send it to the address on the letter that told you how much Income support you’ll get. If you can’t find this letter, call Jobcentre Plus to ask which office to send it to. 

You should phone Jobcentre Plus if you’re near the 1-month deadline to report a change. It’s quicker than writing a letter because the DWP will receive your change straight away.

Jobcentre Plus

Telephone: 0800 169 0310

Textphone: 0800 169 0314

Welsh language: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0310

You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.

Video relay - if you use British Sign Language (BSL).  

You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

Make a note of the date and time you call. Also write down the name of the person you spoke to. You might need these details to prove you reported the change.

If you’ve missed the 1-month deadline

It’s better to report a change late than not to report it at all.

Call Jobcentre Plus as soon as you can. Make a note of the date and time you call - you might need to refer to it later.

You can still write to the DWP if you can’t tell them over the phone.

You can report a change up to 13 months late, but you’ll need to explain why you couldn’t report the change on time.

If the change is in your favour, you’ll get the extra Income Support from the date you reported the change.

If it’s not in your favour, your payments will stop or be reduced from the date of the change.  This means if you reported the change after it happened you might have been overpaid. Get help if you have an overpayment. 

Finding out how much you’ll get after the change

The DWP might ask you for more information so they can work out how much to pay you. They’ll send you a letter telling you:

  • what information you need to send them

  • when you need to send it by

It’s important to send the DWP the information they’re asking for in time - if you don’t, they might stop your Income Support. Call Jobcentre Plus if there’s anything you can’t send.

When the DWP have got the information they need they’ll write to you to explain how your Income Support will change. Look out for the letter - this confirms they’ve recorded your change of circumstances and will be paying you the right amount of Income Support.

They’ll also tell you if there’s anything else you need to do. For example, if you must make a new claim as a single person.

Check the letter to make sure the DWP has recorded the right change of circumstances. You should tell them if they’ve made a mistake by calling Jobcentre Plus. You can ask your nearest Citizens Advice if you’re not sure the letter’s right. 

If you don’t get a letter from the DWP within 3 weeks

Call Jobcentre Plus - ask them if the DWP has recorded your change of circumstances. You’ll need details of what the change was and when you told them about it - for example proof of postage if you sent a letter.

Try to save the extra Income Support if you think the DWP might be paying you too much. This will make it easier to pay it back if you need to.

Your nearest Citizens Advice can help if you’re having trouble reporting a change of circumstances.