Will they really pay me all this in tax credits ?

[Fakeblondie]

Ok i typed all my details somewhat roughly into the calculator as dh and i might be separating. I would work 18 hrs and i earn a basic of about 18000. I have 4 children but 1 is at university.
Its telling me i would get over £900 per month in tax credits !
Is this really true ?
DH said hed pay the mortgage-id get my own salary and then another 900 in tax credits ??? Financially i`d be no worse off according to this and could def afford to separate? ( Pls dont judge i know money isnt everything but with 4 x dc its a massive consideration ).
My questions are- is this likely to be true ? And if so how long after dh moving into new house would it take to come through ? Are they likely to then take it away ? Would shared custody affect it ? Its a minefield . Thx

First thing to say is that child-related tax credits and Child Benefit go to the primary carer which, in your case, would be you. Working Tax Credits goes to the qualifying household... which, if you're solo, that's also you. Any maintenance paid towards the upkeep of your children by an ex-partner is not included in the calculations. There is an HMRC calculator here and the Turn2Us Benefits Calculator (which is tax credits and all other help) is here. Both, in my experience, are pretty accurate. With three/four children you will qualify for quite a lot of help. Not sure how long new claims take to come through but, if delayed, any payments would be backdated.

Are they likely to take it away?... if they overpay, it's always a possibility. And do remember that changes in government policy make it unwise to rely too heavily on benefits for income. In any budgeting process, therefore, build in some slack so that you can accumulate some savings. Good luck

BTW... hope you don't mind. I ran your details as you gave them through the Turn2Us site and, with four children, on over 16 and at university, I make it £600/month in tax credits plus CB for three of your children, plus you may qualify for Council Tax benefit on top.

The financial details of shared custody you work out between you based on individual circumstances. If you think the costs are not fairly distributed you can adjust accordingly.

Just a word of warning, we were awarded what we felt was a high tax credit amount and we queried it several times and we were assured it was correct. We are currently paying back £2k as they claim they overpaid us. I still don't really understand how or why it happened. If you can afford to save it then do as they are notoriously unreliable figures and every adviser I have ever spoken to tells me something different. Good luck with your separation.

Wow thanks. I think i worked it out at a bit more as i pay approx 280-300 per month in childcare .It does seem a lot. Weve been married over 20 years had no idea id be so well off single ????? I would just leave it i think.

That's what benefits are there for ... to get people on low incomes with high responsibilities enjoy a reasonable standard of living. If your exH is offering to pay all the mortgage that's a large expense out of the way. Given the level of the tax credits, if his contribution left him short or living somewhere that he can't accommodate all the children you could decide to split it differently.

Bear in mind that Universal Credit is being phased in from next year and it's possible that you would then get significantly less money. AFAIK the exact details haven't been worked out yet, so very difficult to work out at the moment.