Becoming a student, can I still get my tax credits?

mamat_2

Hi,
I hope someone here can offer me some advice.
I am currently not working and my partner works 20 hours a week. We have a 17 month old daughter and a baby due in June. At the moment we receive housing benefit top up, child tax (maximum award) and some working tax credits.
I have just been offered a place at university starting in September 2010 to study midwifery. I should get about £9,500 NHS bursary (not repayable) and £2324 maintenance loan (which must be repaid). My partner will be having to give up work as our baby will be too young for nursery.
Will we still be entitled to child tax credits and some of our housing benefit and do the claims need to be in my partners name rather than mine?
can anyone help?

Valli

I refer you to our glorious leader here

(Blue type is a link - please click on it and welcome to the forum BTW)

and the government here

AnxiousMum

Your bursary from the NHS will be added as income - so when you're working out your entitlements don't forget to take that into account.

Morgan_Ree

I'm a student also recieving an NHS bursary
I'm still entitled to tax credits (it's about £50 a week) but I'm not entitled to any housing benefit

mamat_2

Hi, thanks had a look but doesn't give me any more info than direct.gov. Was hoping for some more specific info for students as the calculators just say not suitable for full-time students!
My partner will be the main claimant and have full time parental responsibilty and I will be on a full time university course for a career in the NHS with a non-repayable grant of about £9,500.
Does anyone know if we will be able to get some housing benefit (using my bursary as an income) and child tax credits? (I know we won't get working tax credits).

Many thanks for your reply though!

Morgan_Ree

mamat wrote: »

Hi, thanks had a look but doesn't give me any more info than direct.gov. Was hoping for some more specific info for students as the calculators just say not suitable for full-time students!
My partner will be the main claimant and have full time parental responsibilty and I will be on a full time university course for a career in the NHS with a non-repayable grant of about £9,500.
Does anyone know if we will be able to get some housing benefit (using my bursary as an income) and child tax credits? (I know we won't get working tax credits).

Many thanks for your reply though!

I recieve just over £12500 a year from my NHS bursary
£4500 of this is to pay my childcare fees (I think the council disregard that part plus a small amount for books)
So say £8000 was my income + just over £2000 in tax credits

With that money coming in and my rent being fairly expensive (£650 p/m) I was told I was entiitled to exactly £0 housing benefit (well LHA in my case)

Once you start your course you can always join the bank, do some shifts as a HCA on a maternity ward to up your income

mamat_2

AnxiousMum wrote: »

Your bursary from the NHS will be added as income - so when you're working out your entitlements don't forget to take that into account.

Hi, I have just done a housing benefit calculation using my bursary as an earned income (there is no section for students / grants) which has said we will get all of our rent paid.
With me being a student will this cancel out any entitlement I have?
My partner, who is not a student, will be the main claimant and my bursary (plus whatever child tax credits) will be our only household income for myself, my partner, 22 month old and 3 month old (as it will be at time of claim in september!)

Morgan_Ree

mamat wrote: »

Hi, I have just done a housing benefit calculation using my bursary as an earned income (there is no section for students / grants) which has said we will get all of our rent paid.
With me being a student will this cancel out any entitlement I have?
My partner, who is not a student, will be the main claimant and my bursary (plus whatever child tax credits) will be our only household income for myself, my partner, 22 month old and 3 month old (as it will be at time of claim in september!)

Well you definitely won't get all of your rent paid
As for your partner being the main claimant, surely it would be a joint claim?

From other students on my course it seems only single parent families are eilgible for HB/LHA, even then it's only a fraction of their total rent

mamat_2

Morgan_Ree wrote: »

Well you definitely won't get all of your rent paid
As for your partner being the main claimant, surely it would be a joint claim?

From other students on my course it seems only single parent families are eilgible for HB/LHA, even then it's only a fraction of their total rent

Thanks, we have claimed housing benefit for about a year and on the paperwork it asks for main claimant and partner (i guess this is a joint claim)

Seems pretty unfair for single parent family's only to be eligible for housing benefit. As it stands my partner earns £7000 a year and we get it topped up with some tax credits and get nearly all our rent paid with housing benefit.

I was hoping that with a 33% increase in income our housing benefit would just be adjusted down a bit.

bit gutted it seems like we become ineligible for help once you become a student. I mean once qualified I would have no need to claim benefits!!!!

guess this is going to be harder than I thought. If that's right we're going to be worse off financially than when my partner was out of work and we were claiming JSA!!!!!

Ah well lots of beans on toast for next 3 years!!!!!!!

Thanks for your help everyone, I'm going to go into the council and see if we can claim. i'll update the post when I have some news. Many Thanks

Morgan_Ree

mamat wrote: »

Thanks, we have claimed housing benefit for about a year and on the paperwork it asks for main claimant and partner (i guess this is a joint claim)

Seems pretty unfair for single parent family's only to be eligible for housing benefit. As it stands my partner earns £7000 a year and we get it topped up with some tax credits and get nearly all our rent paid with housing benefit.

I was hoping that with a 33% increase in income our housing benefit would just be adjusted down a bit.

bit gutted it seems like we become ineligible for help once you become a student. I mean once qualified I would have no need to claim benefits!!!!

guess this is going to be harder than I thought. If that's right we're going to be worse off financially than when my partner was out of work and we were claiming JSA!!!!!

Ah well lots of beans on toast for next 3 years!!!!!!!

Thanks for your help everyone, I'm going to go into the council and see if we can claim. i'll update the post when I have some news. Many Thanks

Good luck with your course

It is tough at times, surviving on a bursary. If it wasn't for my bank shifts there's no way I'd still be even doing my course!

All I do is think how different things will be when i qualify
Thats what you're going to have to do

Those 3 years will fly by

missmontana

Would it not be worth your partner working part time and the baby going to nursery or with a childminder? Are there any family that could help you out watching the children?
Are you entitled to all the maternity things,like health in pregnancy grant, sure start maternity grant and healthy start vouchers, they all add up!