im so anxious about threats to cut ctc...

Geek, I am not bothered about going to work, if I have to then so be it, BUT there aren't enough jobs to go round!! The unemployment figures don't include SAHM/D and people on IS iirc(?) I think it's around 3m without them!

We built our life/family around our circumstances at the time. Never expected all this to happen with banks/economy. We don't have holidays, period and we hardly ever buy clothes.
I expected to be able to go back to work in about 3 years when DS2 went to nusery. In the time between then and now I was going to re-train.
Now, however, it will be difficult to not work as TC will reduce, BUT it will be difficult TO work as there are no jobs and we will not qualify for TCs if I earn.

Lose/lose.

em83, do you mean income after tax? I am pretty certain that this isn't true. I gave the figures from p60 and they specifically said before tax.

There is a good table on here which shows how much roughly you can get and how it goes up per child/income.
here

i see sweet kitty

so the 3 elements are

child benefits which is the lower amount a mnth think i get £40

child tax credits which is the big amount over £100

working tax credits - we dont get

Just looked at the calculator for this benefit & am shocked how much people can get. Makes me think why do people bother to go to work.

Just looked at the calculator for this benefit & am shocked how much people can get. Makes me think why do people bother to go to work.

allshoppedout, because it isn't the governments responsibilty to pay you to be a sahm.

I would imagine that tc will be reduced if not cut at around 35k mark.

That's what I mean allshopped.

If they reduce them quite a bit, then I would have to go and work to make up the shortfall, couldn't manage otherwise, but the childcare costs would be huge AND more importantly (because eventually childcare costs would reduce as they go to school) there would be one more jobseeker (me!) looking for work at a time when there is no work!

Right I am kind of getting it now (I have newborn brain fog)

We only get the very basic family element the £500 odd pounds £10 a week part.

This is the part that will be taken away with the other 2 elements remaining?

we dont get wtc just ctc
how can they cut it altogether especially if one is at home with the kids and doesnt work!!!

Here you go sweetkitty, look at the 2nd table lower down.

I know it is 2008, but it gives a good idea.

here

Just looking at my tax credit decision for this year. There are 3 elements to Tax Credit

Fists is Working Tax credits (other than childcare) but because of of our income not eligible for this.

2nd is the basic element which is £547.50 (if I lost this is would be no hardship it amounts to about £40odd pound a month and tbh I am trying to get our youngest out of nappies for nursery in September, so this would even itself out money wise.

The 3rd is the total Child Tax Credit elements which is around £6700 but due to income yet again is reduced.

So yet again what are they getting rid of, the basic family or all of it, because if it is all then families would be losing more than the £545 a year as quoted in the papers.

This is getting so confusing I am off for a rest.

Just to play devils advocate for a minute!

Surely as responsible adults, before you TTC a child, you ask yourselves can we afford another baby/child. If the answer is not really then you put off for a few years or not have another one???

Just because we can have children does it give us the absolute right to have children?

Why should people who chose not to have any children or restrict to one or two, subsidise through their taxes, those people who have three, four, five children just because they want to??

Are we teaching our children how to be responsible adults if we rely entirely on the state to pay for them?

I have three and will have to go back to work very soon in order to pay for them all. I dont mind as that is the choice I made when I had my third child.

I think the reason your payments have remained roughly the same year on year, sweetkitty, is that, although you've had more children, your DH's salary has also risen quite dramatically in 6 years, so you are/were entitled to less.

any thoughts

I don't see how you can tell between the geniuine people who have fallen on hard times, and the ones that just "breed" (HATE that term!)

Surely it would cost sooo much more money to interview and check every person than to just keep it how it is.

I am even more confused now, we have been getting the same amount since DD1 was born 6 years ago (with the odd £10 a week extra every time we had a baby).

We have a 6,4 2 yo and a baby, DP earns 45K a year and I don't work. We get £10 a week plus the extra £10 baby element. If I use entitledto.com this is what we are supposed to receive?

In fact last year we were told we had been overpaid so it went down to £35 per 4 weeks even though nothing had changed.

I really don't like the Tax Credits system it is far too confusing (of just me) there has got to be a fairer system somewhere?

allshoppedout, no one will know for definate until the budget is released. It is all speculation. At 35k I would suspect the amount will be reduced or cut completely.

wiki has a good explanation. Better than me!!

here

So if you are in financial hardship and fall pregnant should you have an abortion? Finances change..could you live with yourself if you did this and then your circumstances changed?

If people didn't outstretch themselves with big whopping mortgages cos they are so worried about schooling then they wouldn't be so skint.

I live within my means no big debts here thankyou very much.

We aren't entitled to wftc btw. Only the child and childcare element.

Not sure what you have been told but the best way to work out if you are recieving the correct amount is to go on the tax credits calculator.

Sweetkitty - assuming you didn't have your 4 children year after year, but spaced out over a period of about 8 years (when TC came in, I think), it could simply be that the system, coupled with your different circumstances, has changed a lot between your first and your fourth, and that you didn't watch the small print, so to speak.

i am confused wtf

my dh earns 35k and i dont work so what does that mean for us.we have two young dds
we rely on the ctc?

any thoughts?

will we carry on getting the same amount?