universal credit question about council tax reduction

[purpleme12]

when applying for universal credit one of the things it's asking me is
' have you applied for a reduction in your council tax?'
i don't know if this is referring to the single person reduction?
or the reduction because you're on a low income?
it doesn't explain? does anyone know? i don't want to give the wrong information

It's the one for lie income. Each council has its own scheme.

It means the low income reduction known as Council Tax Reduction.

If you say no to the question then UC can let the Council know you're on UC.

You still need to proactively apply for the reduction though.

oh ok i see. i didn't know it was actually known as council tax reduction.
i'll say no now anyway. i wasn't clear what it meant.

@purpleme12 confusion between the 25% reduction for single occupancy and CTR for low income is widespread....

Lost count of the number of times I've had to explain it.

If you say no don't forget to contact the Council too. AIU UC will message the Council but I wouldn't rely on (a) the message being sent or (b) received and acted upon.

Also when it's asking me how much do I usually earn?
Should I put in my estimation that I told tax credits for this year?
(Because I have my guaranteed salary and my bonus each month so it's really hard to say)
Is this what I should put here??
I thought universal credit were supposed to get your earning each month anyway?

I have two jobs, one with guaranteed salary and one that is different every month - I was told only to put the guaranteed income down. They will see each month what you’ve actually received anyway.

Oh right this is really confusing there's no box explaining this on there

I know, I had to call the helpline because I was confused! That’s what they told me.

If you have to submit it asap, you can always make changes later.

When is it classed as you having applied?
I've created an account for universal credit.
Just haven't answered all the first to do questions yet. Does that mean my tax credits have stopped now? Or do they only stop when I've filled in all the to do questions?

It's asking me about childcare now.
I thought with universal credit you had to submit childcare details each time you use them.
Don't understand why they're asking now if that's the case

@purpleme12 just tell them what you expect to earn.

As @2weekstowait says, once you have a live claim then you UC will pick up your actual earnings as everything your employer reports to HMRC at payroll time is shared.

I don't know why UC ask this question as it has no bearing on what you are paid. I suppose though it may be relevant to affordability of an Advance and/or to filter out folks without a snowball's chance of success.

I'd prefer to tell them each time I use childcare anyway it would be easier for me than that current way with tax credits

Tax credits stop when you hit the submit button I think, not when you make an account - I applied on my deadline day so mine would have stopped anyway. I don’t use childcare as my child is a teenager so I don’t know about that .

@purpleme12 simplest way is to answer the questions as best and as honestly as you can. They're not there to catch you out, just to make sure UC have all the information they need to set up a claim.

@Bromptotoo
When I move to universal credit, will the childcare element of my tax credit not be taken into account?
Because it'll start from fresh with childcare and you'll have to submit it each time to universal credit?
Does that make sense?

Ok thank you

That's right. There's a reasonable amount of latitude for you to get everything together an complete the ToDo stuff.

Once you've submitted the actual claim, including the claimant declaration then your tax credits claim will be closed PDQ and there's not much wriggle space for a change of mind.

But you're not there yet.

I'm sorry I've got another question.
It says do I have a disability?
I guess I do. But I don't claim anything for this (neither would I be entitled to)
So should I still put yes? Do I have to tell them?

I thought universal credit were supposed to get your earning each month anyway?

yes in reality though with thousands of people claiming UC although "real time" flags up if you earn a lot more one month - things can slip through the net - its best to tell them yourself if you are worried about being overpaid by UC as your bonus is more

Do you mean the question where it asks if you have a health condition that affects your ability to work?

No it's the health heading of the to do list.
It says your health conditions.
Do you have any illnesses, disabilities or ongoing conditions?

Maybe I'll ring tomorrow

I'll just put no.
Don't really think of it as a disability anyway.