Hi - Reasonable rental, pro-rata shares of gas, electricity and CT would all be considered reasonable overheads incurred by you, that she would otherwise have to ordinarily contribute towards her own upkeep... all these are permissible living expenses that can be shown on her income maximisation form.

They are not a consideration for HMRC as they are for the welfare of a dependent disabled adult who is still your child and resides with you. In stark comparison, don't forget you can even rent out a room in your home to a complete stranger under the rent a room scheme for reward of £4250 / year.. even that is tax free. !

Thanks for helpful post.

Suppose I added the mortgage, gas, electricity and council tax together and divided by three (three adults in the house)? Does it sound as if this might be defendable as my daughter’s expenses? I am wary of getting tangled up with HMCR after witnessing the fall-out from an IR enquiry many years ago.

Decided against direct payments in the early days on the basis that the local authority took on the management of the resources used to look after her but I am certainly thinking of revisiting this in view of how things have turned out.

We have a reduction for the council tax but once again, I worry that the local authority will start from the point of view that the reduction represents part of my daughter’s contribution.

I think you simply need to contact the relevant department and explain the mistake that was made. Where it says "Lives in own house" this option should have been selected with a footnote added to the effect, "In parents residence as a dependent disabled adult".

jnw - I pay the council tax and household bills that include her costs but can not formally pass this on to her. If I do, presumably I become her landlord and liable for the Income Tax assessment that this involves.

You add all the costs you pay on her behalf and declare these costs to the local authority on the same form. As she is your dependent child with a disability, you are not liable for taxation in this respect..ie. no profits or business interests involved. !

As a alternative to the authority providing the care, you have the right to an assessment being carred out to determine the amount and type of help your Daughter needs, this choice could allow you to take on Direct payments instead. This gives you the money for her needs and as her Parent you would be responsible for employing and keeping records to allow you to choose your own carers.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/DG_10016128

PS - If you have a room in your house that is for the sole benefit of your disabled Daughters needs, you can apply and expect to have your council tax dropped by one band.

I'm taking it she has a job? You've not specified how much the council want to charge vs how much your daughter actually earns. If she's on benefits solely I can't see how the authorities can charge for this.

My daughter (26 years old) has Down's Syndrome. She lives with my wife and I and receives Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Mobility Allowance. For some years, the local authority has provided carers who take my daughter out for 18 hours each week.

Recently the local authority sent her an ‘Income Maximisation Form’ with a view to assessing my daughter’s income so that they could start charging for this service. The form provided two possibilities for her living accommodation:

Lives in own house
Lives in rented accommodation.

Neither of these apply to my daughter. She doesn’t own the house and has not the capacity to pay rent so the form was sent back blank in this area (not too clever I suppose).

The local authority now want to start charging a contribution to the cost of the carers since it looks as if all her income is disposable (ie she has no accommodation costs). This is clearly wrong. I pay the council tax and household bills that include her costs but can not formally pass this on to her. If I do, presumably I become her landlord and liable for the Income Tax assessment that this involves.

Not sure how to resolve this impasse.