I need tax credits explained to me

[halohalo]

I'm on income support, child tax credit etc

I desperately need and want to increase my income through finding a job and hopefully moving house but I want to be independent and be able to pay for a new house (private rent) without hitting problems financially and becoming homeless after not being able to afford rent.

I'm stuck as I literally don't have a clue when it comes to work and pay and what I will be entitled to or better off with

I'm scared about coming off benifits and not having regular payments that I can work out week to week what I can afford.

If I go back to work I have 1 child who is due to start nursery in September and 2 that are in full time school so I would need to sort out childcare too. Again I'm clueless.

I want to either set up my own business and work self employed eventually but not knowing my income week to week how am I supposed to tell tax credits or income support what I'm going to be earning.

I've only been claiming benifits for 2 months due to marriage breakdown where before we were comfortable me being a sahm for nearly 10 years. I need help badly!

You will be better off working! I've just went back after being in the same situation for about a year. I still receive ctc and also now receive wtc as well and a little bit of housing benefit. I'm not 100% sure how it works if you're self employed but a friend of mine does it and also receives ctc and wtc. Obviously I can't comment on how much you would get as that depends on a number of factors but you could have a look at entiteledto.com for a rough idea (although the estimated I would get around £20 less than I did). Hope this helps and good luck finding a job 😊

entitledto.co.uk

That's the lilt there

To make work pay you would need to work at least 16 hours a week. This will enable you to claim working tax credits as well as child tax credits and to get help with childcare costs.
It is risky doing any kind of self employed work as HMRC are now getting very strict on insisting that self employed work must be viable and that you must be earning national minimum wage. Previously people have claimed they were working16 hours to claim the working tax credits but in reality they were barely making a profit.
If you do work variable hours they will need to average 16 hours a week, so you could do say 20 one week and 12 the next but it must average 16. be careful to keep a log of all hours and payslips etc.

I worked out roughly on tax credits calculator on an estimate and it came up with what I would be entitled to including ctc and wtc but I thought it was either one or the other I didn't realise you could get both at the same time it worked out to be a lot more than I expected is this right?

halohalo. yes you can get both but wtc are dependent on income and hours worked. A single person can get WTC if working enough hours on a low income. A lone parent on a low income only needs to work 16 hours to get WTC and can then get CTC on top. The CTC depends on how many kids you have. new rules from April 2017 mean you cannot claim for a third child born after April 6th 2017.
Currently under the tax credit system a lone parent could continue on 16 hours a week until their youngest child leaves education ( I'm sure many don't !). However under the new Universal credit system which is replacing a number of means tested benefits, there will be different rules. Once youngest child is 12 I think lone parents will need to work ( or be looking to work ) at least 30 hours. So things will change significantly under UC and become harsher.

I think as a lone parent you would get wtc on an income of under around £17k as long as working 16 hours a week.

So I've just worked out on the tax credits calculator that if I was to earn 12000 a year before tax and NI . 16 hours a week and £145 in childcare a week (I don't know if I have worked out childcare costs properly as I don't know how much it is or how long il need it for a week)
And is come up with these numbers

Is this normal because it seems like a lot to me!??

Is that as a universal credit claim op?

Il be very honest I don't have a flaming clue what universal credit is. I am literally clueless as I've not had to claim before I feel so silly

I'm starting to really worry about being on my own because even this is all confusing me how am I going to cope independently as a single parent from now on if I don't even know all this ! Feelings of despair are creeping in I feel so useless

I don't even know where to start on finding a job either !

Are you getting child maintainance ? That will not affect tax credits. What work experience do you have?

Hi again op, don't despair! There is plenty of help and advice available here and you are certainly not useless.

Ok so what are you main objectives here?

-look for a job that fits around your commitments

• figure out the benefits system and claim for them

Is there anything else you need help with?

To be honest it's such a minefield, you are new to the system, everyone has been new once.
The main benefits as a single parent are
Income support- claim via telephone
Housing benefit- contact local council
Council tax credit- as above
Tax credits- claim via phone or online
Any disability benefits if applicable
Child maintenance from ex- is this sorted?

Keep talking, you're going to be fine

Zoflora ok I've claimed for income support, child tax credit, I get child benifit and that's it for now. Not entitled to housing benifit as estranged husband has said he will pay for the mortgage instead of child maintenance for now so I'm in the marital home alone.

My plans are that I need to desperately move forward. I need to get on my feet earning a living hopefully kicking off a career.
And hopefully move out of this house (too many memories and not feeling like it's mine. He still has a key etc etc)

I will be going for private rent but will be careful of landlord. My friend works for an estate agents so hope she can help me find somewhere.

I'm just shit scared of finding a job and been worse off or working but only earning a tenner after childcare and travel or something.

What I've worked out just seems like a crazy entitlement! Is this what people normally get or have a gone wrong somewhere ?

For three kids the figures seem roughy correct. It's a bit more than I get but I work less than 30 hours and only claim for two children. You could make a lone parent appointment with your local job centre. There's no pressure to actually find a job yet and they can tell you everything you are entitled to. Good luck op it's not easy finding a job to work round child care but it's an amazing feeling standing on your own two feet ☺️

Crumpetsandcoffee it just seems .... a lot

Like I just can't get my head round why they would give me so much. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining at all but if this is on top of a wage too plus my child benefit. Do you get by ok or do people struggle on this am I missing something big that I've to pay for that will eat it all up or is this going to be the best thing I've ever done for us I don't know.

All I do know is that I'm craving crumpets

I'm in the same boat as you OP my partner left in January, and I have been on income support since. I had a meeting with a job centre advisor no pressure about finding work, but she did various calculations online to show me how I would be better off in work and childcare costs. She also directed me to a EU funded scheme that helps single parents return to work.

I had am interview last week and I got the job, only 16 hours but more or less fits around school hours. I have another job centre interview this morning so hopefully I can get more information on what I need to next. See if you can make an appointment with your local job centre, I was apprehensive about going but the help and support out there is staggering and after wrongly believing it would be impossible to either find a job or for a job to be worth while I'm excited to start work. Good luck op.

I get by fine on my wages and w/ctc but you should take into account when you move to private rent you'll get very little or no help with your rent. I get around £20pw and pay full council tax and water charges, although your ex should then pay maintenance but don't rely on it as if he's anything like mine her chops and changes his mind if he's gonna pay it or not! Hope you got some crumpets 😂

If it helps to know...

When DH was on a low wage (and I was a student)..he was on about £10k a year...all in all, everything added together, we had the equivalent of £2k+ a month take home.

He now earns £24k and I'm self employed (don't earn v much though) and our take home pay is £400 a month less than we had on benefits.

If you don't earn very much, you are much better off on benefits. The system is ridiculous. Very much penalised for working up the ladder so to speak.

Hence why those on benefits are able to afford the nice clothes and the holidays! I'm prepared to get shot down because I have been there!!!! Absolutely no point at all getting a £20k a year job -= get the minimum wage one because you will be better off. Fact.

Starutopia I think that's why I'm struggling to understand it as I'm so new to actually taking note of the system it just seems completely bizarre! I can see now that yes this country seems a tad bit backwards with it all but I'm not complaining and if it helps me for now to get myself on my feet then fair enough every little helps. I'm just glad I have a head on my shoulders and a drive to earn my own money in the future and work my way up the ladder so to speak. I would need to work out how much approximately a private rent a month would set me back and if I can afford that with utilities and council tax too before I go any further.

In other news I've suddenly being offered a job that is 16 hours and flexible too around school hours I feel I've hit the jackpot! Maybe a bit of good luck was owed to me after these horrendous few months.

I will be classed as self employed but my wage will be a set regular amount roughly so easy to work out. Just need to take the dive now and take the job and register for working tax credits and things.

And no I ended up with a greggs sausage sandwich instead haha!!

Definitely take the plunge. You will be able to afford things :)

New job sounds great - good for you. Brilliant news!