BENEFITS AND TAX CREDITS FOR LONE PARENT STUDENTS - April 2024

2 STUDYING FULL TIME Key facts If you are a lone-parent full-time student then: ▪ you are eligible for income support (IS) if you have a child under 5 (but you can no longer make new claims for IS); ▪ you are eligible for housing benefit (HB) (but you can no longer make new claims for HB unless you live in ‘specified’ supported or temporary (homeless) accommodation); ▪ in higher education, you mig. [...] For IS (and HB), you are always treated as though you have taken out the maximum loan for which you are eligible, even if you have not applied for one, if you could get one by taking ‘reasonable steps’. [...] You are responsible for a child/ren if you or your partner get child benefit or other benefits for the child/ren, or you are a kinship carer for the child/ren. [...] If you are a lone parent with a child under five, you can get IS if you are studying part-time (but remember new claims can no longer be made). [...] If you do have a council tax bill to pay, you are eligible for council tax reduction if you are a lone parent student with a child that you get child benefit for.