Please help me understand my benefits entitlement

[BeauMirchoff]

I'm finally going to split up with my husband. I've done a quick calculation online of what help I would be entitled to and by the looks of it, I would be left with about £1065 after rent (£1250) and childcare (£1400). With that £1065 I'd have to pay for food, transport and all other bills/debts. Council tax would be about £100, phone £50, tv and internet £65, repayment of tax credits £40, cc repayment £30, water bill arrears £50, energy bill arrears £45, other debts approx £50. So that's £430 if my calculation is right...that leaves me with £630 for food, clothes and transport. Can it be done? this is making me so anxious but I just can't live with that man anymore. I'm so unhappy and he treats me like shit and the reason why I even have arrears is because he can't hold down a job for longer than a month. I want to start afresh on my own but that may mean I will really struggle...

OP i would go with what entitled to says - I've had a play just now with income of 38k and high rent and childcare costs I would be entitled to approx £325 per week (tax credits and housing benefit) which has surprised me

FiveGoMadInDorset I think the OP already has an open claim with them, she is already paying an overpayment back.

Jeez, you can earn 38k and get 1300 a month in benefits. That's more than I took home each month.

That’s what worries me about the op not being honest about her earnings. She’s already paying back an overpayment, so they might say she should know she has to tell them of changed. Plus they’ll take the overpayment off her next year and she will have fuck all left to live on.

@retirednow yes but it pretty much all goes straight to the Landlord!!!

@retirednow - that's with £1400 a month childcare costs and rent of £1150

I understood that by arrears the OP is talking about other bills and debts.

But in The numbers she’s counting arrears. But nit budgeting for energy and water in her ongoing costs that have to come out of thenwbatever she has left after rent and childcare ?

To have the five hundred left a month, you're entitled to 444 a week in benefits? That's on top of the child benefit?

Wow. I'm surprised at that.

@Bluedoglead I don't appreciate being told that I am not honest about my earnings. I'm not hiding anything and I always inform HMRC of changes. They already have my estimated income of 15k for 17/18. I told them when I phoned in September. Told them exactly what my job was and how much I was going to earn.

@Bluntness100
No. The £500 is what's left from my income and estimated benefits.

That's exactly what Bluntness said re the £500 op.

have You told them about your increase in earnings then? That you’re actually earning 28k a year ? Because you’ve already got an overpayment to repay and they will take it off what you get in future and reduce your award

I honestly don't understamd yout numbers.

You have 1937 coming in with child benefit.
Your rent and child minder is 2650
You have a further 450 on bills. Total 3100.
Subtract the 1937.

This gives you a deficit of 1163 pounds. You say you have 500 left for month. So why is it no to the 444 weekly. Where are you getting the extra 1663 pounds from?

You’ve got water bill arrears. Energy bill arrears. Tax credit arrears.

Are you allowing yourself thar you’ll have energy and water costs, and that they’ll take any tax creditarrears off your entitlement going forward?

That's exactly what Bluntness said re the £500 op

Thanks, that's what I thought she was saying. She will get a further 1700 a month in benefits on top of the child maintenance.

But she has tax credit arrears. Once she puts in her claim they will take it off her entitlement so she won’t get the full Amount?

@Bluntness100 £500 after all bills and debts are paid off. £500 to buy food, pay for transport and clothes if needed. Child maintenance is not something I'm counting on for reasons I stated before.

@Bluedoglead tax credits arrears are being paid off monthly so they won't be taken out when I change my claim to a single one. This has already been agreed with hmrc.

Sorry I should have said child benefit.

Anyways I was just expressing surprise you get 1700 a month in benefits on top of child benefit.

But how did you end up with arrears in the first place? And having HAD tax credit arrears in the past (present) why are you setting yourself up to get them again? I really don’t understand why you’d do that to yourself.

That’s my understanding too Bluedoglead and of OP hasn’t told them about the increase of more than £2,500 it will be more with the possibility of a fine also - sorry OP if you have reported the change.

Anyways I was just expressing surprise you get 1700 a month in benefits on top of child benefit.

As I think loads of people will when the OP is on the wage they are.

It's the equivalent of about 25k gross salary.

£1400 out of that £1700 will go on childcare so that I can work.

Why aren’t you going to be claiming child maintenance off your Stbxh?