Full time students and benefits - Full time students and other benefits

Carer’s Allowance

You cannot get Carer’s Allowance if you are in full-time education, even during holidays. For Carer’s Allowance, full time usually means a course at any level that the school, college or university says is full time.

Carer Support Payment (Scotland)

You cannot usually get Carer Support Payment if you are in full-time education however there are some exceptions. For more information, read our Carer Support Payment for students section.

Child Benefit

If you are responsible for a child, as a full-time student you can still claim Child Benefit.

Pension Credit

If you are a full-time student who is over 66 and you have a low income, you may be able to get Pension Credit.

If you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you will automatically receive your maximum entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.

Tax Credits

It is no longer possible to make new claims for tax credits. If you are already getting Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit, you may be able to continue receiving them. Otherwise, you will need to make a claim for Universal Credit.

Tax credits will end on 5th April 2025.

If you or your partner are working and have a fairly low income, you may get Working Tax Credit. However, in some cases you need to be aged 25 or over. How many hours you need to work will depend on your circumstances.

If you are responsible for children as a lone parent or as a member of a couple, you may get Child Tax Credit.

See the Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit information guides for full details about who can claim.

Most student support income is ignored but some additional payments may count as income.