I feel stupid for not realising that the change in tax credits would effect me

[pud1]

i have just received a letter stating that I am no longer going to get tax credits. I knew nothing about this. I knew that the child benefit was changing and I was going to loose at next year but missed the whole change in tax credits. I can't believe how this government are screwing us

DH and I both work, I wouldn't want another family.to live in poverty just so we could feel we had.more than them because we work and they didn't

£42K and a mortgage of only £600 a month - I don't think you have much to worry about! What are you spending your money on?

Does anyone know how many hours a lone parent will need to work to get WTC? I can't find a definitive answer anywhere. I currently work 16 hours and am trying to get an increase to 24 but may only get 20. Even if I was full time I would only earn £26k.

here KateF

However in October 2013 Universal credit comes in and single aprents (and carers for children on MR DLA) will have to do 24 hours or be classed as not working and liable for workfare / to show they are looking for another job (look up universal credit conditionality)

Oh and the people who say work costs- yes it does, I remember the days when DH ahd to pull an occasional sickie if the money ran out before the month due to petrol- but so can being at home; heating, wear and tear, paying increased rents due to the narrower choice people get on HB... it's not all one way.

Just to clarify, we do not and never have received joblessness benefits as a family.

Sancti - you just reminded me of when our company payroll messed up and no-one got paid, there were lots of people stranded at our warehouse who couldn't afford to drive home as they would run out of petrol and had been relying on that days wages to pay for it. DH and I both worked for same company so we were stuffed that day.

Our 'mistake' if you like was following the 'take any job you can' advice, in that it meant DH had a commute of 90 minutes so a LOT of petrol. He was forever being paid the wrong amount and that would screw up everything.

The job DID prove to be a stepping stone to better things though, so worked out well in the end, but I hope never to be back there again!

@KateF. There's a lot of very good information on the HMRC website link here about the main changes in tax credits. The changes to working hours do not affect single parents.

No, they are screwing the lone parents up when universal credit comes in. The fuckers.

'The fuckers' are still working on the rules of the Universal Credit, the details are not yet in the public domain and there is no reason to assume that lone parents will be worse off. The main targets for cost savings so far (CB, CTC, WFTC) have been couples with above average incomes.

As a lone parent am trying to work out whether I will need to work a set number of hours (20? 24?) to meet conditionality or whether I need to earn equivalent to NMW for those hours. I work seasonally and some at v good hourly rates. Some less good. Also some employed and some self employed. But something will happen in the end I suppose.

"'The fuckers' are still working on the rules of the Universal Credit, the details are not yet in the public domain and there is no reason to assume that lone parents will be worse off. The main targets for cost savings so far (CB, CTC, WFTC) have been couples with above average incomes."

And disability living allowance which is becoming PIP and will cost 20% less.

And the the benefit that keeps roofs over the heads of those with low incomes.

And the EMA which helped kids with poor parents afford to go to sixth form/college.

THE FUCKERS

@QED the working hours stipulation has only changed for couples, not lone parents. Not unreasonable for 2 parents to work 24 hours a week between them. Far more difficult for a lone parent to do so

"And the EMA which helped kids with poor parents afford to go to sixth form/college."

Kept them in beer, you mean. Anyone from a poor family that really wants to go to college wouldn't let a few quid bus-fare put them off.

CogitoErgoSometimes Fri 02-Mar-12 17:26:13

Award for most monumentally ignorant post goes to the above.

Bus fare is more than a few quid. £50 a month for my local service. A lot of money if you're on a low income and also needs to be seen in the context of other cuts and the rising cost of food and utilities.

I know plenty of teenagers that used the EMA for bus fares , but hey ho its only a few quid. I mean ,whats £15/20 a week if you are struggling .

jeez

Cogito, I know for tax credits it is still 16 hours for WTC from April. I am thinking ahead to when Universal Credit comes in and how it will affect me then. Am not too worried at the moment but always wanting to think about the future as well.

My first sentence makes little sense - should have had a LP in there somewhere I think.

"Does anyone know what the new threshold is for three DC?

We earn just shy of 40k between us and get £130 a month"

that sounds like an overpayment to me.

Jeez nothing blushingcrow etc. There are teenagers all over the country doing little bits of evening and weekend jobs to make £20/week. Others could do the same. It was always wrong-headed to bribe kids to stay on at school.

www.which.co.uk/money/tax/guides/tax-credits/child-tax-credits-the-basics/

here, scroll down a bit. for 2010/11, the maximum per year with three kids at £35,000 was 545. per year. not £130 a month.

I got the letter, this is a real pain in the arse, I must get round to calling them I keep forgetting.

One child, boyfriend earns just under 25k but because I worked a bit l last year (well it's the year before isn't cos it's paid in arrears?) we earned probably around 27k or just over 26.

It's a right pain in the arse, I should get this years (last years?) because I've only worked 2 days but it's really annoying that our wages can get over the limit so easy and then they will tell us to fuck off, instead of just putting the claim on hold until the cash drops again, it's pointless extra hassle they don't even have my details properly on the system anyway because it doesn't accommodate Zero Hour contract types, they have me down as unemployed, it's bollocks.

Have the highest ever youth unemployment figures passed you by CogitoErgoSometimes ?