Estimates of the breakdown of entitlements to tax credits and child benefit in 2007-08 by household income decile are provided in the following table.
Household income decile Percentage of all entitlements to tax credits Percentage of all entitlements to child benefit Bottom 20 10 2 28 15 3 18 12 4 12 11 5 9 10 6 6 10 7 4 9 8 2 9 9 1 7 10 0 6
Household entitlements to tax credits and child benefit are modelled using Family Resources Survey data assuming 100 per cent. take-up of tax credits and income-related benefits, and are subject to sampling variation. Take up of tax credits is 82 per cent. for families with children and 96 per cent. for families with incomes of less than £10,000.
This table is broadly consistent with household incomes by decile published in ‘Households Below Average Income—An analysis of the income distribution 1994-95 to 2005-06, Table A2’, but with assumed complete take-up of support tending to raise incomes at the low end of the distribution.