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Original poster

Child tax credit - boyfriend in parents house

26 replies

Lizzier43 · 02/07/2018 18:41

Hi,

I am a single parent living in my mums house and my boyfriend has moved in. We have no joint bills, no mortgage, no joint account and no joint rent as it is my mums house. He does not contribute to my childcare bills as we keep all of our money separate. Would I still have to make a joint claim for child tax credits just because he also lives under my mums roof?

Thanks

OP posts:
CosmicCanary · 02/07/2018 18:47

Are you a couple and are any of the children his?
I would contact them and explain the situation. Let them decide.

MyDcAreMarvel · 02/07/2018 18:49

Yes because you are a couple living together , you are not single .

MumOfTwoMasterOfNone · 02/07/2018 18:55

Yes. I rang and asked for advice a few years ago and they said if other people see you as a couple, then yes.

Original poster
Lizzier43 · 02/07/2018 18:59

No my child is not his. We are a couple in that I call him my boyfriend but not in any monetary sense at all. It doesn’t feel fair to ask him to pay half of my childcare bill just because he has moved in because he fell out with his Mum and Dad.

OP posts:
MyDcAreMarvel · 02/07/2018 19:00

You should have had a joint claim before he moved in if people view you as a couple.

DextroDependant · 02/07/2018 19:04

How does that work @MyDcAreMarvel, surely the point to claim jointly is when living together as a household.

People might see you as a couple after 3 dates or 4 months but it wouldn't be appropriate to expect them to support your children.

Bombardier25966 · 02/07/2018 19:07

He's free to move out again if he doesn't wish to be part of the family unit.

Why are (both of) you not paying your mum rent?

Original poster
Lizzier43 · 02/07/2018 19:13

I never said we weren’t. There is no rent agreement is what I meant, it doesn’t mean we don’t give money to my mum to help her out.

OP posts:
Pandora79 · 02/07/2018 19:16

So you want to live with your boyfriend, but don't want to appear as a couple for tax credits purposes?

Tell him to move out, if you don't want to be a couple.

Bombardier25966 · 02/07/2018 19:16

To help her out? You give her money because she's entitled to it, you're not doing her a favour.

If you want to live as a family unit then you claim benefits as a family unit.

BackToTheFuschia7 · 02/07/2018 19:18

Yes, you’re a couple living under the same roof. You definitely shouldn’t claim as a single person.

RunMummyRun68 · 02/07/2018 19:19

You are a couple, claim as one and stop trying to cheat the system!

sleep5 · 02/07/2018 19:19

if you're going to do that then make sure he doesn't have anything registered/delivered to your parents' address - eg. Mobile phone bills, bank accounts, electoral roll, insurance, etc. This is because those things go on his credit record and insurance register and that's the first thing they'll check if they investigate you/him.

Though why don't you ring them and clarify what the situation is? Don't give your name or details and ring them with number withheld (dial 141 before their number) so they can't identify you via your phone number. If you don't find them any use them try citizens advice bureau.

Adviceplease360 · 02/07/2018 19:24

You should make a joint claim.
If he can live with you, he can contribute towards your family unit.

BackToTheFuschia7 · 02/07/2018 19:27

sleep why are you advising the OP to commit fraud? Do you realise how serious the repercussions for that are?

top2patooties · 02/07/2018 19:28

You are not single. You are living with your partner. So it's a life choice you have made that changes what you are entitled to claim.

swingofthings · 02/07/2018 19:28

Why are you suggesting that OP coming fraud Sleep? They will be living as a couple, regardless of what he registered there, if she claims as a single person, she will be committing fraud. Are you saying that it is ok to do so as long as you don't get caught? This is the reason why they are tightening their investigation, because of the number of people who think like that.

Fairylea · 02/07/2018 19:30

You need to make a joint claim. You’re living together as a couple. That’s the only thing that matters. I always claimed as a couple when my now ex dh and I lived with my mum. (This was years ago). It never occurred to me not to. When we split up I let tax credits know and they sent someone round to the house to check he had actually moved out, so it seems telling them initially was the right thing to do.

sleep5 · 02/07/2018 19:35

I was advising to avoid doing those things until OP has clarified her situation with social services. Once she knows her situation she can make a decision based on that. It may be the cost of bf being registered is is minimal or that he has no impact. If it's going to be very costly then they may decide partner should quickly move out - in that case it would be advantageous to him not having official ties to that address as the credit report records could end up staying there for many months before updates are applied.

tissuesosoft · 02/07/2018 19:50

And some people wonder why letters come out reminding them to report if they are in a couple...

Babyroobs · 02/07/2018 19:55

yes of course you would claim as a couple you are living together as a couple unless he is just a lodger in your parents house. If you share a bed/ eat together / go out together for days out then HMRC will see you as a couple.

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 02/07/2018 19:55

Of course you claim as a couple!

BarbaraofSevillle · 03/07/2018 05:32

People might see you as a couple after 3 dates or 4 months but it wouldn't be appropriate to expect them to support your children

Yes, that may seem unfair, but that's the rules. Many people lose their tax credits when a new partner moves in, as has happened here.

You could also ask 'why should the taxpayer help support your children when this is down to their parents' (assuming both parents are still alive of course) or other family members, including your boyfriend, could do so?

Crossroads18 · 03/07/2018 06:26

Am I being selfish to my two sons to be fantasising of being on my own so that I can have more money for them. With my partner, his two daughters and the boys we live Day to day counting money. When I was a single parent to my eldest I loved how we had so much spare money every month. If I had a good month at work we could have £400 a month spre. I now hate having to live counting the pennies since my partner moved in. When we first got together we went out lids and did a lot because we lived seperatley and could afford to: my partner is so accustomed to life where he doesn't worry about bills and happily spends spends spends that we do argue if I say no we can't afford something. I am not prepared to claim as a single
Parent with him living here.It's not my fault he has to pay out to see his children and for csa. It was his choice to have them. Our relationship is amazing, he lets me go back to bed when he gets home, he cooks breakfast and dinner in bed, shares night feeds with our son, does joint nursery runs etc and we do have a amazing time together. He does half the housework and we are so alike in the tv we watch our relationship is amazing. But every week he goes up to see his daughters it's a argument as he expects more money than we can afford. And it has been rough going with his daughters. I have made a lot of progress and as much as at times I can resent them for their behaviour and things I have learnt how to deal with it. I hate how my boys are going without so much because we are together and for the stepdaughters to have contact etc. Will it get easier... am I just having a bad few months, or am I right feeling selfish. Asides from him paying out for all he does for his kids, even if he didn’t or they didn’t exist then we would still be struggling financially and would still have nowhere near the lifestyle me and my son had when I was a single parent. I didn't even get much in tax credits so it's not that as I worked full time. It's all the things like water bills. It has doubled since he has moved in because he has two baths a day. Electric has nearly doubled because of how much time he spends with the tv on. My food bill has nearly tripled because of all the coke, crisps and food snacks he 'needs.' He gets through a 2lutre bottle of Coke a day! I am sick of feeling like I am the only One to care about how much bills are so that we have more money for the kids. And the only one willing to make sacrifices as he just always wants money for PlayStation vouchers or crap from the shops. I just want to know if anyone else has ever felt this way and it has gotten better. I am Hoping once my youngest is older and I can do more than 18 hours a week that will help too. But for now I just feel like I am depriving my kids of a lot of things: obviously they have all the necessities. But I never wanted for anything as a child, my parents gave us the world and more and that’s all I want for my kids. I can’t even afford to put both boys into swimming lessons, and I feel awful as my eldest went when he turned 1. Will this pass, will money get easier as they get older. I just feeling so low at the moment. Can love over take money?

Crossroads18 · 03/07/2018 06:28

So sorry this wasn't for this post! I was trying to make
A
Thread. Sorry..

But yes unfortunately you do need to claim that he is living with you, I have had this situation. As I also had it that before we even decided whether we were ina. Relationship he was staying and they said we would have to claim as a joint couple as it doesn't look right otherwise