Working tax credits

[QuirstThenching]

Loads of people I work with get benefits of some sort to top up their wage for one reason or another. I just ran our details through the tax credit calculator, and me and DH aren't entitled to anything (I hate to use 'entitled', we're just poor and desperate!) despite a joint income of £7600 last year, is this right??

We're practically living in squalor and struggling just to keep that together, I could just be done with a little bit of help

I don't know if it's right or wrong. Are you both full time or part time? Do you have any kids?

That doesn't sound right

That's is assuming you have children? I don't know about tax credits if you don't.

You might want to check out the main website as well. Not everyone with a low income is eligible

www.gov.uk/working-tax-credit/overview

If you have a joint income of £7600 per year, then your weekly hours of work between you must have been 20?

Then minimum wage is £7.20 per hour.

To get working tax credits with at least one child, you have be working at least 24 hours between you, with one of you working at least 16 hours, unless one of you gets carers allowance. That would be an annual income of £8985.

£7600?? Joint? How?

Not without dc.

Do neither of you work full time?

Is that £7600 net (take home), ie after tax and NI? Or is it your gross income?

It can't be Net, because everyone has a personal allowance of £11,000, so neither of them could be paying tax and NI if their joint income is £7600.

I'm trying to be empathetic, but it's little wonder you're struggling if you are jointly earning £7600, because that's the equivalent of working 20 hours per week between you. Nobody can expect to work so little and be topped up by benefits unless they are ill, caring for a disabled family member, or are disabled themselves, surely?

This is why I asked if they have kids, it's almost acceptable if they do :D

How can you possibly have lived as two adults on £7600? That's my rent alone!

I would love to work more, I have a 16 hr contract, was working between 25-30 until someone came back from maternity leave and I'm more or less on my contract now. DH been unemployed for nearly a year, finally got on a 10 hr contract a month ago, again hopefully more hours going but no guarantee. No kids, do you need to have kids to get any help? He never got jobseekers as I worked more than 24 hours.

Oh confusing, I am op, switched from app to browser somehow

If you were doing 25 hours a week you should have been entitled to wtc.

You might be entitled to housing benefit.

Ahh you don't have children. That's why you can't get WTC. The WTC minimum hours for 25-59 year olds without children are 30 hours.

Is there a reason your joint income is so low?

It also has to be work that is expected to last for 4 weeks or more. So you'd have to inform HMRC every time you went over or under 30 hours to stop or start the WTC claim, but they'd only let you claim if you were going to be doing 30+ hours for 4 or more weeks.

Income is low because none of the places we've applied to for jobs have accepted either of us.

We always seem to do too many hours or not enough for help, it's so frustrating. Oh well hopefully DH will get a decent amount of hours in his new job and we can keep on surviving

Also, thank you all for the help

In your shoes I wouldn't be waiting to be accepted for a job! You need to be creating your own work. Cleaning, dog walking, childcare, ironing, delivery driving, window cleaning. How has this not occurred to either of you!

I do my own self employed job as a cleaner/housekeeper and now work 34 hours a week at it! I originally advertised on gumtree I did clean for free for a friend who was needing help so she agreed to be my reference for people, I have also done ironing as well from home in the past, it's surprising how many people are looking for reliable cleaners, I have a car so don't mind a six mile job I have to put my youngest into after school club but i get some help towards that , is it something you could try?