Does petrol allowance count as earnings?

[midorimum]

the local council have finally agreed to pay me petrol expenses to transport my son to his special needs nursery placement as he couldnt go in a taxi as he has very poor head control and is frequently car sick.
ive been taking him by myself for 2 years but will now be getting 25p a mile which works out at roughly £26 a week.

does anyone know if this will count as income for child tax credits and housing benefit?

[Alambil]

no I don't think so, it is for petrol and is therefore not "spare" money to be spent on rent etc.

[discoverlife]

Nope its the same as having your bus ticket refunded. I would also have a big moan at the council as all their staff get 44p a mile.

[midorimum]

yeah its rubbish isnt it, to be fair tho the 25p does cover what i buy in diesel so i cant really complain, but a few of the other mums go in the taxis as their kids escorts and get £80 a week for doing it and the contract taxi and escorts get hundreds of pounds a week, so im actually saving them a lot of money by doing it myself so dont know why i had to fight for it

[discoverlife]

Don't forget to get your hospital visits and relevent parking fee's refunded when you go for appointments. You need proof of a qualifying benefit (I think the blue badge counts too) and an appointment sheet. It can add up, especially the parking fee, like at ours £5 in two hours.