Universal credit calculator help please

[Putdownthecake]

Hi there,

I have used entitled to and turn2us but got different figures and am very nervous about applying for UC.

I am due back to work in September (i work full time but earn a low wage). My husband will be home with our baby. DH is in work currently but on a fixed contract that ends in August. I am on maternity leave. My husband and i both can't work full time currently, my ds starts school which will cause huge upheaval. He is non verbal autistic and will need staggered starts/early finishes/part time. He requires a lot of care. We are looking into childcare options for our youngest but everything so far seems to leave us worse off which is ridiculous.

2 adults both over 25
We have 2 kids, (4yrs and 6months)
we have a mortgage
no savings
My DS receives mid rate care DLA - (currently challenging this and applied for mobility as he also has a recently diagnosed physical disability but not including them for calculation purposes as not sure if it'll be approved or not)
My gross pay per month is £2041.33, i have a student loan, pension of 132.89 and NI/TAX which gives me a take home of £1507.94
council tax is band B, liability £1238.72

If anyone is bored, can you please help me work this out? Thank you so much. I am beyond stressed worrying!

Policy in practice benefit calculator. Only takes 5 mins. It's the simplest one but accurate. I use it at work.

www.betteroffcalculator.co.uk/calculator/new/step1

thank you @ButtonMoonMrsSpoon ! that link has confused me more. It doesn't ask about pension contributions. Also i guessed a rough figure for childcare to see if we'd be entitled to 85% and this says we would, but other calculators doesn't. I thought UC was on net income. How do people survive on this :(

Using a professional calculator - QBC - I get MAx UC (Standard Allowance plus Child Element for 2 kids and Addition for eledests current DLA of £1264.29.

That's based on gross pay of £2041.33 after Tax NI at standard rate and a monthly pension contribution of £133 approx.

You keep the first £691 as a Work Allowance and UC is reduced by 55p for every £1 above £691.

I suspect the issue is around your Student Loan, ow much are you paying for this per month or year?

I'm assuming you're on the scheme for those starting Uni before 2012. If on the later version I don't think you pay at your current salary.

I am only typing quick as have ds home from school any minute.

I have just done a (very) quick calculation, and based on what you advised above, you would still get £940 UC per month. That’s bringing home £1507 wage per month. You’ll still get your child benefit separate to that as that’s not taken into account, plus your ds dla, as that isn’t either. Then of course your wages.

I’ll be back later with my calculations and breakdowns. Once I’ve done another calculation without having to do it quick!

Is your dh planning on claiming carers allowance once his works ends in august? (He could claim it now if he doesn’t exceed £139 a week wages?)

Although it’s taken £ for £ from your uc, I still like to claim it for full national insurance credits, also it’s paid weekly, uc is monthly so always have something going in the bank. I also claim the carers premium on uc which is another £185 a month on top of your money.

Aaagh, posted without proofing..

Max UC £1264.29. Deduction for salary, after Work Allowance and Taper, is £444.54

UC payable, before adjusting for student loan, is £819.75.

No addition for childcare.

Sorry didn’t read regarding student loan. Not sure how that works with taking that into account. No expertise with student loans.

Excellent point from Danni about Carer's Allowance and Premium.

The calculator keeps screwing up tax/ni so not sure the answer I gave is correct.

Got and errand to do now but will try it again later.

You lovely lovely people. Thank you so much for your kindness! £800-900 would be enough but I keep getting 600-700 odd. Annoyingly I have no access to my systems (unless i go into work) when on maternity leave so can't see my payslip currently but it's usually around £100 student loan deduction I think. I graduated from my undergraduate in 2014 but did a teacher qualification 2015-2016 which was also a student loan. My annual salary is £24,496.

Tbh this is all new to us. I work for my local authority and my husband is a teacher but on fixed term. I personally believe he'd be classed as a carer for providing 35hrs care a week but I'm not sure from a UC perspective if he'd qualify or not when our son will be at school? Although i have fears my son will be home educated when they cannot meet his needs.
My understanding with carers allowance is it equals less UC?
My husband is hoping for other work and this is temporary but his work needs to be a proper contract, he can't do supply teaching as we can't say to nursery we will have full time then he only gets work half the time etc and we have a huge deficit. It also needs to pay enough to cover the cost of nursery for our daughter and wrap around care.
We are very anxious parents for September and our ds. When he started nursery, he was headbanging, eating unedible items, crying fits, not eating or sleeping etc and we know the same is to come for some time and will require one of us to not work and for now, it's better that I do.

If it helps my monthly gross when working is 2041.33, I net £1507.94, I pay £132.89 into pension, and am on the basic 1257L tax code.

@danni0509 just read these so quick amongst baby jobs at home. I see what you mean about carers allowance. Thank you for your answers!

Thank you @Bromptotoo

Hi
I’ve just realised that our family may be entitled to UC
We both work and I’m not entitled to carers as my pay is over the amount. I never thought we would be entitled to UC but after entering our information in two calculators now it suggests we will
I have five children but two are disabled

@claza93 I'm the worst person to advise as clueless myself haha but if calculators say so it's worth applying! Worst that happens is a no. If your children don't get dla you can apply for that to x

one gets dla and the other gets pip (although we are at tribunal stage as they only awarded enhanced mobility)
thanks for replying
I’m all over the place with this 😆

As long as your dh is providing 35 hours of care a week then he would be eligible to claim carers allowance and UC carers element for your child regardless of whether they are at school. As others have mentioned upthread, the carers allowance is deducted in full from UC but worth claiming for the NI credits.

The CA will preclude him from any conditionality (work searching)... so also worth it for that.

To the PP who said she can't claim CA due to earnings. You can have the Carer Element added to your UC.

Standard allowance £578.82
Child one £269.58
Child two £269.58
Disabled child £146.31
Carer £185.86
Total £1450.15

Work Allowance £631
Net wage £1507.94
Deductible wage £1507.94-631=£876.94
Deduction: £876.94×0.55= £482.32

Total UC £1450.15-£482.32= £967.83

It's worth your DH applying for Carer's Allowance because it will give him the NI credits (although if child benefit is in his name, that would do that). The 35 hours of care includes time your DS is sleeping, so don't worry about when he's at school.

Definitely challenge the DLA if your DS doesn't sleep well at night. For DLA the criteria for high rate is that you need to attend to them for a prolonged period or multiple short periods during the night. The mobility will only be granted if he is deemed unable to walk or virtually unable to walk because he is under 5, so low rate mobility isn't available.

I think the figure the OP quotes for net pay is after deduction for her Student Loan. I think, but an not 100% certain*, that net pay for UC is before the deduction for SLC. In other words UC uses income after tax, NI and pension but not SLC (or pretty much anything else).

If I'm right then starting with OP's gross of £2041.33, less tax and NI per calculator and deducting £133 for pension net earnings for UC are £1615.99. Max UC including the Carer Element is £1450.15.

Net Pay £1615.99
Less WA (£631)
Pay for UC £984.99 x .55 = £541.74

MAX uc £1450.15
Less Taper (£541.74)
UC Paid £908.41

So around £900/month as a ball park.

*On holiday this week so no access to textbooks etc.

I am honestly floored by the kindest of strangers working this out for me. Thank you all so much.

Would we be entitled to 85% childcare costs back if we was to find a provider? I assumed my husband would be exempt from looking for work with a 6month old (will be 9mnths when applying) and claiming carers element but maybe this isn't the case?

As for mobility. My DS is 5 at the end of the year and has perthes disease. Treatment is no weight bearing on his leg, however this is literally impossible for my non verbal asd child. He has receptive language of a 1 year old. He is not allowed to run or jump (again impossible) as this causes further damage to his bone. We are not allowed to take him to parks in case he tries to. Sometimes he is wheelchair bound and can barely walk, other times he can walk and run... but this is the issue... he does not have the mental capacity to keep himself safe or understand when he does exercise that it needs to be a slow walk.... He runs.. .further damage... further pain etc. Children like my ds often have crutches or castes but again, this is impossible. It's a really horrible situation to try and treat :( we find out if he needs an operation next month. He has physio. So for the most part he can walk, but will cause further damage to himself physically. I'd like to think he'd qualify but it sounds unlikely :(

I think i was getting the calculator wrong as i was putting my whole gross in. £900 is more than liveable with CB on top etc.

@Bromptotoo have a lovely holiday!

@Putdownthecake he should qualify. "The higher rate mobility component can be paid to a child from the age of three years. It is for children who are unable, or virtually unable to walk, or where the exertion required to walk would constitute a danger to their life or would be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in their health. Children can also qualify if they have a severe visual impairment, are both deaf and blind, or are severely mentally impaired."

https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financial-support/benefits-if-you-are-disabled-ill-or-injured/disability-living-allowance/#:~:text=The%20higher%20rate%20mobility%20component,serious%20deterioration%20in%20their%20health.

thank you @Lougle i think so too but i know how much of a fight it is to prove anything to the dwp. i've sent off all his evidence so hopefully will hear back soon