Benefits advice

[LittleMoosh]

I'm thinking of giving up work for a while as my working life is very hectic. I have 2 DS one is 3 and one is 8 and both are very demanding. I may need to support DS8 with his school work more as it appears he has learning difficulties and I don't spend enough time with DS's too.

Anyway, my DH has just gone back to work earning £22k p/a

Just wondered if I gave up work would we be entitled to any benefits? Child tax credit increase or working tax credit, or help with council tax?

My earnings are higher than DH so would be losing a huge chunk of money if I give up work

Any advice appreciated

i am no expert but am currently on benefits myself so have some idea you would be able to claim working tax credits but thats all and that wont be that much with an income of 22000 child tax credits is if no one in the house hold works and council tax benefit would also be no as your household income is much to high sorry if your ds8 is diagnosed with a medical condition such as autism or somethign you you be able to get some help but if its just a case of mild learning difficulties at school then you would not be intialtle to any additional finacial help hope this helps.

You could always ring the CTC helpline and see if they will work out how much you would receive each month, there is an on line calculator but it can be extremely inaccurate.

Do you rent or have a mortgage? Depending where you live if you rent you may qualify for housing benefit top up.

I guess you could always scrutinise your direct debits each month and see how much you could save by cutting back on stuff you don't use or get new quotes for insurance etc. I hope it all works out for you.

Hi OP I can empathise with your desire to spend more time at home with your child. I did exactly the same thing but my circumstances were different so benefits were different.

Firstly you need to look at entitledto website. As a previous poster said the results they throw up can sometimes be inaccurae. However that is normally because of user error.

Firstly you need to work out your indiviaual 08/09 income, Then you will need to tick it has gone down and work out your 09/10 estimate. This will be your wages from when start of tax year to when you would like to finish.

I predict you will only get the £10 CTC basic rate.

CTB- our household income is less than yours and we dont qualify.

DLA- unlikely at present.

If you rent I can give more advice on LHA.

Hi LittleMoosh- My dh currently earns £19k p/a, so only a bit less than your dh. I do not work. We have 4 children aged between 8 and 1. We currently get £183 per week for tax credits and just found out today we are also entitled to £90 per week housing benefit as we pay rent.

So I would have thought you would receive more like £70/80 per week in tax credits.

Hope that helps.