maternaty, tax credits and other stuff

daave

Hi, hopefully someone on here has the knowledge to help me?
both me and my wife work:

currently we both work seperate jobs but both earn around the same amount of money @ £19000 each a year before tax.

we have just found out we are expecting a child.

neither of us can work out what we should expect financially.

we think, that my wifes pay will be 90% of her usualy earnings for 4 or 6 weeks, then will go to the smp of around £127

can we claim anything while she is pregnant as once her wages go to £127 that is about £200p/w less than we usually have.

please can anyone also explain what entitlement (if any) there is on a single wage of £19,000, as it seems as if my wife will have to leave work shortly after she gives birth, as the childcare costs and related costs seem to outweigh the viability of one of us continuing to work.

flea72

you are entitled to 1years mat leave, 9m of which you are paid SMP

so your OP is entitled to claim SMP for 9m, whether she returns to her job or not - as you are classed as employed whilst on mat leave, you only have to give your employers your normal notice period, if you dont plan on returning to work. it is best to err on the side of caution and not hand in your notice until the end of your mat leave is approaching, as things can change

money wise, you are entitled to tax credits. you have to set up your claim based on your last years income, which in your case would be £38k. however once your claim is setup you can contact the hmrc and give them revised figures based on your estimated income for the tax year (you disregard £100/wk of SMP for income purposes)

other child benefit, there isnt really much else you are entitled to (maybe Council tax benefit or LHA). if your OH doesnt return to work, then you may well find that your entitlement to tax credits increases too, but not drastically enough to cover the drop in income

if may well be that returning to work part time could be an option, as you can get help towards childcare via the tax credits, or maybe your employers have a childcare salary sacrifice scheme, which helps lessen the cost of childcare

F

daave

ive tried the calculator on the HMRC website, but it doesnt give any values of money at the end, is ther a way of getting a rough estimate from anywhere? we need to see actual figures to attempt to budget the next few months, but cant seem to get the correct info from anywhere..

does anyone know the thresholds for council tax and housing benefit, can you claim lower council tax because you have children or something maybe?

the disregarding £100 of smp part, does this mean on a calculator i can jsut miss off £100 or will the internet form do this automaticly?


i dont think that my partners employers have any such sceme, although they might let her go part time, my employer definitely doesnt have anyhting like this, my salary is fixed and benefits are non-existant apart from statutary things.

zagfles

Try the turn2us calculator, https://www.turn2us.entitledto.co.uk/entitlementcalculator.aspx which will work out HB/CTB etc as well