Universal credit

[pansydansy]

Has anyone not been awarded tax credits been on to claim universal credit?

We're only entitled to £40 a month tax credits but struggle so much. Dh is self employed so doesn't get a set wage. We're not entitled to any help with our rent either.

I'm trying to put a new claim for uc but I'm completely confused with the online application. It s asked us to do a "to do list" which we've done. Now it's a journal? Nowhere has it asked for dh's earnings? 😬 I've tried calling them for some help but can't get through. Can anyone help please?

Have you both filled in the application and linked them?

Once I eventually got through to the phone staff they were helpful, but it did take me ages.

Hi yes we've linked it but not sure what to do now. It hasn't asking for his earnings? Is that normal.

Universal credit isn 't great for self employed people unfortunately. He will probably need to ring and report his earnings each month.

Also you will both need to go for ID inyerviews unless you have been able to do the online verification.

It sounds like such a faff. And in the end we probably won't get any help. Thank you though for replying.

If you struggle so much on the income from your DH's business then it's obviously not a viable business and you/he need to be looking for additional or alternative employment rather than just expecting help from the taxpayer.

@jemihap I asked a question. I don't need your input thanks because you don't know the facts.

Ignore jemihap, I've seen them make similar comments elsewhere. They must have very sad lives to take pleasure in putting others down.

Self employment is certainly complicated on UC, he'll need to report his earnings every month. More information below.

www.gov.uk/self-employment-and-universal-credit

Thank you @Tomtontom I'll take a look.

Uc is a faff to set up initially and it is hard for self employed people because if your husbands business is over 12 months old and they deem him to be gainfully self employed then they will treat him as earning a ' minimum income floor' each month even if he doesn't earn that ( for example because earnings are seasonal or variable). Therefore you can potentially end up not getting much help when you need it.

Why would you claim UC ? You will receive less than the £40 a month tax credits if anything.

If you struggle so much on the income from your DH's business then it's obviously not a viable business and you/he need to be looking for additional or alternative employment rather than just expecting help from the taxpayer.

I just don't think that's true. DH is in a largely freelance industry, in which stints of work (months long) and stints without work (ditto) are the norm. At the lower grades, that's a struggle, but he was lucky to have a small inheritance, cheaper housing than is now available and plentiful access to interest free credit cards in those years (twenty years ago now). Without those things, it would be hard to work your way up (for more than a decade) to the better paid grades and the prestigious work.

At the other end of the scale, some self employed work is very seasonal. Usually in places where a lot of the available work is seasonal.

This generation face much higher living costs than we did and the available top ups don't work well for the self employed.

Why would you claim UC ? You will receive less than the £40 a month tax credits if anything.

Yes, that seems likely.

OP have you checked via an entitlement calculator?

Not entirely true. We weren't entitled to tax credits due to DH earnings, but we are entitled to UC. The threshold is much higher than the threshold for TC without childcare element. Our joint household income is £2700ish a month (I work different hours every week so mine varies) and we still get just over £100 UC a month.

Sorry, the not entirely true was to this comment Why would you claim UC ? You will receive less than the £40 a month tax credits if anything

The entitlement calculators both told us we weren't eligible. But we are. They're unreliable.

The threshold is much higher than the threshold for TC without childcare element.

It depends on the exact circs, and if the self employment income varies a lot over the year, monthly reporting and the MFI will likely be a disaster for them anyway.

The entitlement calculators both told us we weren't eligible. But we are. They're unreliable.

They're reliable if you fill them out in a "whole year" basis, using your current circumstances.

I've tried the calculators I just get so confused by them. A lot of the questions I don't know how to answer.ie was dh earnings this year different to last. We both can't remember and can't find the tax invoice for that year. I'd prefer a form than doing it online because it all very vague.

Its not vague , but if earnings are variable it's going to be difficult for anyone to calculate what you might get. If your husband's earnings are variable then your Uc each month could go up and down accordingly. Uc is possibly better than tax credits for that reason because it is based on real time earnings rather than tax credits which are calculated over the year resulting in sometimes big under and overpayments. the problem with self employment and Uc is that they will set your husbands minimum income floor at 35 x NMW each week and if some months he doesn't earn that minimum income floor they will still treat him as if he has and reduce your Uc amount accordingly. they will do this even if he earns zero in your assessment period . That is unless he is in the first year of self employment in which case the minimum income floor does not apply.

@Myusernameismud yes but the op’s dh is self employed. The op may have conditionality depending on the age of her children.