MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands: Household power and fuel assistance a non taxable allowance

The Household Power and Fuel Allowance has been implemented to help insulate households on low and middle incomes against rising fuel and electricity prices

At a special Falkland Islands Executive Council meeting held on 1 December, it was confirmed that the Household Power and Fuel Allowance will be treated as a non-taxable allowance.

This means all eligible households will receive the full £140 allowance and not being charged income tax on this allowance at a later date, regardless of whether they earn above the £15,000 personal tax allowance or not.

Additionally, the deadline for applications to be received for December payments has been extended to 31 December 2022. Eligible applications received before this date will receive payments back-dated to 1 December 2022. Eligible applications received after this date will receive payments beginning in the month after the application is received (i.e., applications received in January will be eligible for payment beginning in February).

Chair of the Legislative Assembly John Birmingham said “I am very pleased that this confirmation has been made, bringing the recently announced Household Power and Fuel Allowance in line with other financial assistance packages such as the Income Support and Winter Fuel Allowance, which are both non-taxable support payments. These support packages are important and are a response to real challenges that households are experiencing. I encourage anyone who may be eligible to apply for these schemes.”

The Household Power and Fuel Allowance has been implemented to help insulate households on low and middle incomes against rising fuel and electricity prices. An allowance of £140/month (£840 for 6 months between December 2022 and May 2023) will be payable to households with annual income up to approximately £43,200, with a partial allowance payable to those within a few hundred pounds of this threshold.

For information on current support programs visit:
https://www.falklands.gov.fk/socialservices/income-support
https://www.falklands.gov.fk/finance/

The Falkland Islands Government would also like to remind the public that in October, an extension was approved for the Family Allowance support scheme to include families who have been resident in the Falkland Islands for three years. Policy and associated legislation will need to be developed and adopted before this extension can be implemented. This work has not yet been undertaken by Government Officers but will be incorporated into the legislative drafting schedule.

Once the work has been completed a formal Gazette will be released from the Law and Regulation Department and eligible families will be then able to apply for the Family Allowance scheme. It is likely that this work will be completed in 2023.