PIP Medical Tommorow

Its a bit of both. i dont know whether to put A or B on this tax credits form because I feel that I do have a big disadvantage if I had to try and find another job. It seems head injuries and difficulties I have do not fit in with what disabilities are on the form. I am thinking of going through the process and then starting a new PIP claim.

Hi, I think it's worth looking at the Disability Helpsheet if you haven't already. I think the fact that you've been receiving the disability element until recently indicates that you are likely to meet the first two criteria

Condition 1 - You usually work for 16 hours or more a week.
Condition 2 - You have a disability that puts you at a disadvantage in getting a job.

Condition 2 would probably be met by one of the "Other disability" descriptions for a traumatic head injury. I don't know enough about your condition to be certain of that.

Then for condition 3 the fact that you've been receiving the disability element until recently means that qualifying benefits that you received at 'some earlier time' are considered, not just those that you have received recently (see below). You said you got yourself off incapacity benefit. Did you go straight from incapacity benefit into work and claiming tax credits? If you did this might be relevant and mean that you are still eligible for the disability element. For example if you were receiving Incapacity Benefit at the higher rate short-term or long-term rate you only had to have been getting this benefit for at least 1 of the 182 days before you first claimed the disability element of Working Tax Credit. There are other qualifying benefits given in the leaflet.

Hopefully you can remember back to what you were receiving just before you went back to work and you will find another qualifying benefit for condition 3. If that's the case you will be able to prove that you would have received the disability element even if you hadn't been in receipt of DLA and it should then continue.

Working Tax Credit
You get Working Tax Credit which includes a Disability element. You qualify if you have been entitled to the disability element of Working Tax Credit in the 56 days before your claim for the disability element by satisfying the qualifying conditions under one of the sickness or disability-related benefits listed on pages 4 to 7, or by getting Disabled Person’s Tax Credit, at some earlier time*.
* The period ‘some earlier time’ can allow continuing entitlement to the disability element long after the qualifying sickness or disability-related benefit stopped being paid.