Single Mum on UC self employed

[TellHimDirectlyInDetail]

I've just done an entitled calculator to see if I'd be able to claim UC once my husband and I split. I'm self employed and earn around £30,000. This does not include holiday, or pension. I inputted the CM payments he would have to make, we have two primary school aged children.

It said I'd be entitled to around £80 per week plu child benefit.

Is that right??

It seems like a lot. I thought benefits were for job seekers or earning minimum wage. (I don't live in London)

If I claimed it could I start over paying my mortgage? Is that ethical? Could I use it to put it in my pension?

Or am I deluded about how I will be scraping by with money and I'll just need it to food shop.

The answer to the last question depends on how much you DH contributes now - does he split the bills, buy food etc? Or are you already carrying all the costs yourself?

The more you put in your pension the more UC you will receive

I'm a single parent and I take home roughly 2.2K a month. I'm still entitled to UC. I pay more tax and NI than I get back in UC but c'est la vie. I dare say you will too. Children are expensive, most western economies will give you an extra tax allowance or some form of tax credit when you have children. I think that'd be much more straightforward.

No one is going to say well done you for not claiming what you are entitled and at some point you'll need it. So take it and save it for a rainy day.

Not sure how it works if you're self employed but UC is worked out after your pension contributions so if you have spare cash I would put it in a pension.

Child maintenance doesnt effect UC as the government is so ineffective at collecting it there's no way it can be relied upon as income.

I would say I've found UC very easy to deal with despite the horror stories. I sign in once a month to accept my commitments which are sign into your account. They have a light touch category for people who earning enough.

Whether it is correct depends on your situation. Will you be having rent to pay ? Do you currently own a property with your ex ? If so is that being sold ? Child maintenance payments have no effect on UC. It is possible for people to earn quite a bit and still qualify for UC.

I should also add that UC for self employed people can be tricky so I would read up on it and see if you think it's worth applying for £80 a week !

So do the terms and conditions include that I must be actively tryiny to earn more?

I wouldn't get your hopes up.

If you are self employed UC is calculated in a different way to your self assessment form. It's quite complicated and not in your favour.

Do you have high childcare costs? I'd assume that's what most of the UC is for btw. It's usually either that or rent payments on your income level.

This might be helpful good luck!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/4549316-self-employment-and-moving-from-tax-credits-to-universal-credit

@Desperatelyseekingcommonsense thanks for this. When I did the calculation it asked for CM payments...so I wonder why it asks for that if it doesn't take them into account.

@Babyroobs he is going to buy me out. So I will move with the boys. I wouldnt want to live in this house with my children as it's too big and I'd prefer a fresh start. I like that he will keep the house at it will give at least a bit of consistency to the boys for when they stay with him EOW and one week night. I'll be paying mortgage rather than renting. I wish I knew what the "quite a a bit" was.

@ArcticSkewer I'm not banking on the UC money at all. I'm only going to buy a house that I can afford without any UC payments. If I am entitled to UC it will be a bonus. Child care costs are just wrap around care but not even every day. ...nothing like nursery costs would be.

@starpatch thank you, I'll have a look.

The entitled to calculators usually include child benefit in the amount it shows you so it may be a little lower for universal credit.

@TeaKitten it said £80 per week plus child benefit. It doesn't seem right does it?

Do you have childcare costs?

Child care costs would only be about £40 per week.

One thing I didn't understand is when it asked how much tax did I pay in the previous month...I just estimated how much it would be for a month. I don't pay tax every month though, I pay it in July and January.

@TellHimDirectlyInDetail They ask for details of child maintenance payments as some councils (not mine) count them as income when calculating any council tax reduction. I’m a band E so get no reduction unless I was earning less than £16.5k a year.

This is one of the many reasons why uc is crap when you are self employed.

There are a few good guides out there. Managing your fluctuating income pages are worth a read

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/benefits/benefits-and-work/universal-credit-for-the-self-employed

https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill

That's the link to pay tax monthly instead

sorry slightly wrong link but you can click to follow from there. it's called a budget payment plan

Thanks so much @ArcticSkewer I'll have a read through those.

My pay is pretty consistent I just wondered whether I have to switch to actually paying my tax monthly...or if it just means how much am I due to pay for that month.

Yes apologies for being vague about the "quite a bit". The problem is with UC you can never really tell someone at what point they wouldn't get Uc without knowing full details of their circumstances. Some people can have incomes of 50k + and if they have rent to pay, a few kids born before a certain date and childcare costs, or kids with disabilities they may still qualify. CM does not affect UC in any way.

If you want to check how much UC you'll get, you could contact Help to Claim: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/

The important thing about claiming UC when self-employed is that you'll have to report your income and expenses every month. There's detailed advice about that here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/on-universal-credit/reporting-self-employed-earnings/

You might find that it is helpful to pay your tax and NI monthly instead of yearly - see https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill/pay-weekly-monthly

It's also a good idea to spread out your pension contributions, too, so they're roughly the same each month (or you could pay a bit more on a good month and a bit less on a bad month).

@AnotherEmma brill thanks for that.

So it looks like I will have to pay tax monthly...due to minimising the fluctuations. At the moment I pay my taxes in July and January only so in those months I might not meet the minimum income floor. If I've understood that correctly.

How old is your youngest child?

He will be 4 once I have moved out

Your MIF will be low, then; 16h/w at NMW - that's £722.45/month.

Online calculators are wrong quite often.

I lost my job during covid and I got
£334.91 for being a single adult (it's less for under 25s), £244.57 for having a child and £404.77 towards my £650 rent. It was paid monthly as they don't do it weekly.
I had about £334 to live off a month once my rent was paid (lucky I'm renting as they don't pay toward mortgages) and that £334 had to do electric, gas, food and all the other bills. And once I started working again I was told once I earned £344 they'd deduct 55p for every £1 I made.

I've got no idea how people live off that, luckily I was able to find work once lockdown stopped.
I also received the £86 (I think it's gone up now) child benefit and child maintenance off my childs dad.