Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

Working tax credit - please help!!!!

35 replies

Jane0123 · 18/07/2018 12:34

Hi,

If my partner earns £26000 per annum and I do not work, will we be eligible for working tax credit? I have looked everywhere online and I’m just confusing myself!!! 😬🙄

Any help to clear this us would be fab!!

Thanks 😀

OP posts:
FatCow2018 · 18/07/2018 12:35

How many children do you have, and why won't you be working? If its illness related there are other things you can claim as well.

Original poster
Jane0123 · 18/07/2018 12:45

I am currently expecting. I did have a job but left by my own choice as it was awful (bad choice now!!!!). I did apply for another job but found out I was pregnant. I’m not looking for any other benefits, just working tax credit. Thanks for your help!

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 18/07/2018 13:02

No the cut off for working tax credits is around 17k so his wages would be way too high for that. When you have a child then you might get child tax credits although the cut off for one child without childcare costs is around 26k. If you find a job and pay childcare then you may get some help with that.

Babyroobs · 18/07/2018 13:04

In fact the 17k might be the cut off for a couple with kids, it might be even lower without kids. definitely no entitlement to WTC. You could claim contributions based job seekers allowance for 6 months assuming you have paid sufficient NI contributions over the past few years but you would have to meet the conditions of looking for work which it doesn't sound like you are.

Original poster
Jane0123 · 18/07/2018 15:15

Thanks for replying. I asked about jobseekers but the area we are in is universal credit and they said I can’t get that because of partners earnings. I will be looking to go back to a job 4-6 months after baby but baby is due in 5 weeks so I can’t look to start working at the minute. I only found out I was pregnant at 5 months and was about to be offered a job but thought it best to be honest and stand down as I didn’t want to be in the position of an employer treating me as a burden or burden them with training me for 3 months and then me leaving.

OP posts:
SendYouUpInFlames · 18/07/2018 15:21

With your husband earning so much I think you will only be entitled to Child Benefit. I think it's only about £17.50 a week. Correct me if I am wrong though.

Babyroobs · 18/07/2018 15:34

You have been given wrong information. You can still claim contributions based job seekers - in a full service Universal credit area it is called new style JSA and you can claim it without making a full UC claim. It is based on NI contributions you have made and can be claimed separately to UC.

Babyroobs · 18/07/2018 15:35

It is income related JSA that you would not be able to claim because of your husbands earnings but if you have paid enough NI contributions over the past few years you can still claim new style JSA regardless of his earnings.

Salmakia · 18/07/2018 15:59

Potentially you could claim maternity allowance? I'm not sure if that is something that is impacted by universal credits though
www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/eligibility

Babyroobs · 18/07/2018 16:07

maternity allowance is paid separately to UC.

Original poster
Jane0123 · 19/07/2018 16:38

Thank you for all your replies! So I was told I didn’t qualify for universal credit as I live with my partner but when I applied for universal credit I also applied for the advance loan as I was heavily in my overdraft and being charged for it and by the time we pay bills, we had no extra money to clear it. I have just checked my account and they have put universal credit advance money in - does that mean I am eligible and will receive universal credit? I am not sure why I would have got it otherwise as t says you repay the universal credit advance payment back out of your monthly universal credit allowance?

Thanks!

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 16:55

Did you make a joint UC claim? Are they aware of your husbands earnings?

Original poster
Jane0123 · 19/07/2018 17:06

Yep, that was the only way we could do it and he had to go in and provide all his details (passport ect). I’ve checked through the claim and I’ve definitely put the right salary amount in as I was worried I’d done it wrong! I’ve actually put his salary in as £26000 but I’ve realised it’s £25000 so if anything, I’ve put his salary as higher than it is. I’m going to ring up tomorrow as I don’t want to get anything where not meant to and get in trouble.

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 17:07

why did you not say at the beginning of the post that you had made a claim for Universal credit - all that you mentioned was working tax credits ???

Original poster
Jane0123 · 19/07/2018 17:09

Because they told me I wasn’t intitled to working tax credit at the job centre and that it would be just working tax credits which is why I am now confused

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 17:11

Sorry I'm totally confused and feel that all the information I've tried to give on this post has been wasted as now you say you've made a UC claim !!

Original poster
Jane0123 · 19/07/2018 17:12

I initially applied for job seekers online but they told me at The interview it would be better to apply for working tax credit (I told them then how much my partner owned but they said it would be ok and to still apply for it). So I went home and did a UC application. I went in for the interview for it with a different person and they said I would not get any money for it because of my partners earnings (obviously a conflict with what the initial interviewer had advised). She said I should apply for working tax credit though. Hence why I am now surprised and confused as to my The advance UC loan has come through.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jane0123 · 19/07/2018 17:14

I did make a claim but was told I wouldn’t get it and just working tax which is why I i Lyn did the post on working tax. I checked my bank today and saw that money had gone in. I didn’t post about universal credit as I was told I wouldn’t get it. I am completely surprised. I had no need to post about UC credit as was told I wasn’t eligible so why would I post about it?!

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 17:20

Once you have made a UC application there is no way of then making a working tax credit application . The aim is to eventually get everyone on UC.

Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 17:23

Ok well you posted about working tax credits but didn't mention you had made a UC application, you can't apply for both.. You will probably just get a zero award from Universal credit now unless you have a very very high rent or something. I have no idea why you have been given an advance as this usually reflects the amount they expect you will be paid and I can't understand how you will get paid anything with an income of 26k coming in.

Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 17:25

You would be entitled to the couples standard element of UC and housing element if you pay rent. I imagine that will be cancelled out with earnings .You might as well leave the claim open - when your baby is born then you will get the child element too but still unlikely to be enough to get any Uc unless childcare costs are high when you get a job.

noselimit · 19/07/2018 17:27

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Babyroobs · 19/07/2018 17:31

It's ok noselimit- I feel like I've wasted a bit of time on this but can understand that people are getting confused by the whole changes in the benefit system.

Original poster
Jane0123 · 19/07/2018 18:35

Thank you for replying and your help. I don’t know why noselimit feels the need to ty and put me down when I have clearly stated why I did not mention universal credit. I have never applied for benefits before. I would not choose to wish my time or anybody else’s time on purpose and don’t really know why someone would want to try and make me feel rubbish when I clearly didn’t intentionally set out to waste any bodies time but thought that universal credit was not applicable to me after being told so by the second interviewer. Some people just like to put other people down I guess. I’m all about positivity and not negativity but I suppose we can’t all be that way.

OP posts:
Mc180768 · 19/07/2018 19:38

Okay.

Let's get this into perspective.

You've applied for UC and based on what you have informed them of, you've been awarded an advance payment.

Assuming you have an online account, your advance payment would have been awarded based on an estimation of what you have submitted. Advance payments are only awarded once information has been verified.

Because you're in a full service area, any new claim for WTC would be a UC claim. Your journal should have an audit trail of what you have claimed for. You'll now be in your assessment phase and will receive a statement 7 days before your payment is due. If your advance payment has taken you over your award amount, that will still be taken.

Sounds as though you've had your first appointment. Your joint personal allowance will have deductions from other income. If you qualify for JSA, you'll have that element paid but overall you could qualify for something.

Keep an eye on your journal. When you accepted the advance as it is offered, you would have been asked how long you wanted to pay it back over.