|
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is an income-assessed weekly allowance of up to £30 to help with the cost of further education. EMA is a scheme providing young people who wish to continue in education after school leaving age with an incentive to earn awards through good attendance and achieving agreed objectives.
EMA is paid fortnightly directly into the young person’s bank account. The young person can spend the EMA on whatever they want. It can, for example, help to cover day-to-day course related costs such as travel, books and equipment. Receipt of an EMA will not affect the receipt of any benefits which are currently paid to your household.
The information you need to submit as evidence of income will vary depending on your circumstances. The household income assessment is applied to the home in which the young person normally lives. The income of the following adults in the home will be included in the assessment:
- parents
- guardians
- step-parents
- parent partners
- mother's partner or father's partner
The income of the following adults in the home will not be included in the assessment
- adult brothers and sisters
- parents, step-parents or guardians who do not normally live in the same household as the student (even if they make maintenance payments)
As the young person's parents or guardians, you must provide evidence of the household income for the prior tax year. If living independently the young person must provide this evidence. If you have already given this information to HM Revenue and Customs, you can submit a photocopy of your finalised Tax Credit Award Notification (TCAN) as evidence. This must be the TC602 (E) for 06/07. Only the 'E' or final version is acceptable.
For academic year 08/09, we require your TCAN from tax year 07/08.
If you do not have a TCAN or the 'E' version, you may provide alternative evidence of household income for the tax year 06/07 or 07/08, such as:
- salaries or wages (P60)
- income or profits from self employment or business as it appears on the SA302 form
- income from taxable benefits
other income, such as interest on savings and investments
| 
