Income and expenditure assessments are a great way to help you find out how much you have each month to spend in an affordable way. It is used to help set you up for success, and in a home that you can afford.
What is an Income and Expenditure Assessment
An income and expenditure assessment uses a lot of information, and in its basic form looks at what money you have coming in and what money you have going out and what you have left over. Using this information, the housing team can help you in so many ways.
What do I have to do?
If you need an income and expenditure assessment, the most important thing is making sure you get ALL of the information to the housing team that they need. Here are some of the information that they will usually need:
Three months up-to-date bank statements for ALL bank and building society accounts, regardless of whether they are used or not
These are the last three monthly statements. You should receive these through the post or even as an email or they may be on your banking app. But If you are not sure, you can just contact your bank and they should be able to help you. Make sure that it is for ALL of your accounts. Even if there is an account you do not use, it will only slow down any help we may be able to provide if you do not.
A copy of all recent transactions (transactions since your last statement, up to as close to your appointment date as possible) for ALL bank and building society accounts
For example, if the date you have been asked for these is October 15 and your last bank statement shows up to September 30, you will need to ask your bank for a copy of your transactions since September 30, and this should show all the transactions between then and October 15.
Three months up-to-date wage slips, and/or proof of self-employment earnings, and/or pension statements
Self-employment evidence would include:
- most recent tax return
- up to date profit and loss statement (this may be a spreadsheet showing your business income and expenditure)
- Certificate of tax deducted if the tax is deducted before you are paid
You should receive a payslip each time you are paid from your employer, this may be a physical paper wage slip but it may also be digital either an email or through an app etc. You can always ask your employer for copies if you do not have them. We need to see the actual wage slips because we need to see what you are paid before and after Tax, National Insurance etc.
If you are self-employed we would need to see your profit and loss statement (this may be a spreadsheet showing your business income and expenditure), certificates of tax deducted if the tax is deducted before you are paid, as well as a copy of your most recent tax return.
If you have one, you can ask your accountant and they should be able to raise all this information for you.
Letters confirming Tax Credits/PIP/ESA/DLA etc.
You may receive these through the post or email etc. but if you do not have a copy you can get them by contacting:
For Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Tel:: 0800 169 0310
Textphone: 0800 169 0314
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0310
For PIP
PIP enquiry line: 0800 121 4433
Textphone: 0800 121 4493
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 121 4433
For Tax Credits
You will receive an annual letter detailing the amounts for the year.
Three months up to date Universal Credit statements
You should receive one every month in your Universal Credit Journal outlining what you are getting and with a breakdown of what the payment is made up of (housing element etc). This is not just a screen shot of how much you are paid but the full statement.
If you do not have a copy you can go to www.universal-credit.service.gov.uk/sign-in (external link) and log into your ‘Journal’ and go into ‘payments’, and just click on the relevant payments. When you open a statement, you can click on ‘print statement’ - you should have the option to save as a PDF, which when you have saved it you can then email to us.
ID for the whole household
For Adults in the household either:
Passport or National Identity Card (or other residency cards/documents)
or any two of the following:
- Birth/Adoption Certificate
- Current Full or Provisional Driving Licence
- Letter from a UK Government department or Local Authority dated within the last three months
- Criminal Record Check issued within the last three months
For Children in the household either:
Passport, National Identity Card or Birth/Adoption Certificate
If you are having any trouble getting a birth certificate or passport we can sometimes work with you and arrange to pay for you to get a copy.
How can it help me?
By seeing what you have coming in and going out, the Tenancy Support Team can see if there is anything they can do to help boost your income and maybe even spot if you are entitled to apply for any further benefits etc.
Having an income and expenditure assessment done can often highlight for you where you may easily save money each month. Knowing how much you can afford in rent will make things a lot easier when looking for a new home.
With a completed income and expenditure assessment, the Housing team may even be able to help lend you the money for a deposit.
We are here to help
Tel: 01353 665555