is a phd grant earnings on CTC form?

[tina9]

Hi

My partner has moved in with me but I haven't told the tax credit people yet cos I have been putting it off and everytime I think about it I get scared and don#t phone them and now I am really worried.

I would like to know if anyone else knows if a student grant/bursary that people get for studying a phd is classed as earnings on my CTC application? I am worried I have been overpaid as a single parent and now he has an income but is is tax free so I'm not sure if that counts or not.

I hate dealing with CTC people as they have made mistakes before but this time it is my fault and I really want to get thisngs sorted out. Does anyone know? Thanx x

I don't know the answer - but why not just phone the helpdesk and ask?

I have put off telling them about changes in the past and I do know that worried feeling

But you will feel better if you deal with it, so just take a deep breath and phone them

You could ask the general question about the PhD funding first, then get back to them with all the details later - if you break it up into chunks it might not feel so overwhelming

Thnaks. But when I have phoned them they said it does count as income. But the student union person and the bbc working lunch site say that it is not included as income cos its tax free and. I don't think the person I spoke new what I was talking about!! Cos students are normally doing a degree not a phd which is different. I want to be sure that i have my facts right before I deal with them again. Urrrrrgh!! Thanks for the advise tho x

have a look at nus site

I cant advise because you havent said exactly what it is he is getting- the exact name is important.

You need to report this soon- both of you could get a conviction for fraud.(which could affect any future career Just ring up and report that he has moved in. It will catch up with you so do it ASAP!

A PhD IS a degree, and your DP is a student. PhD grants are not income, because they are tax free. Similarly, because your new partner is a student, as long as there are only two adults living in your house, i.e. 50% of the occupants are students, you should not have to pay council tax (unless the rules have changed since I finished my PhD in 2003, which is possible).

I suspect the person you spoke to doesn't know what they are talking about. Have you tried the Inland Revenue website, or Directgov?

PHD grant is not taxed, so is not relevent income in relation to CTC, so you will likely lose CTC, as both need to be working, and he is not (unless he has a paid job also of 15 plus hours. My DH has a PHD grant and we get nothing. I would be so much better off if he was an undergraduate, or I was a single parent. I have been told it is his choice to do the course, and he is not working so could care for the kids while I work.

You must tell them he has moved in, or you could be charged with fraud, and pay money back.

If anyone thinks there is a way around this, please tell me, as I am on Mat leave, and pennies are very short.

Council tax is not a full discount if you are working, which you must be to be on CTC. You would get the same discount you do as a single person.

"My DH has a PHD grant and we get nothing. I would be so much better off if he was an undergraduate, or I was a single parent. I have been told it is his choice to do the course, and he is not working so could care for the kids while I work."

That is bizarre! (like a full time PhD is NOT a full time job ) Has your DH investigated getting paid his dependents' allowance while you're on ML -- if not, he should.

Thank you Beanlet - I will look into this - never heard of a dependents allowance. In order to afford our first child we took out extra on our mortgage. With no2 (now 4 weeks old) I have my head in the sand I am 41 so it is not as if we could delay things either.

Could you please tell me who gives the dependents grant? Just asked DH and he has never heard of it.

Sorry to hijack thread...

stinkypinky you've got it all wrong, you don't need to be working at all to get child tax credit.

i think you get only 25% discount on having one student (same as being single person for council tax purposes) though of course if you are eligible for council tax relief that's something else to report any change in income to.

Stinky, it will be your DH's research council that you need to talk to. Your DH needs to look at the terms and conditions of his particular grant. Back in the day, when PhD stipends were only £7K, my (then) DH was on an EPSRC grant that gave us an extra £2K for me, and also extra for each child, though we didn't have any.

I've just had a look at the AHRC website (my funding body), and it actually looks like they are in the process of phasing out dependants' allowances (stingy bastards), though they still pay £2,145 per year for one child and half that for a second. So you may be unlucky -- but it's still worth checking.

and it looks like Edgar is right on council tax -- they really have got tougher in the last few years!

well, my dear DH got a CCJ through his ignorance of said fact...he was the only non-student in a house of four, what is more....

Oops apologies... getting my WTC and CTC mixed up - I get feck all anyway