Housing Benefits advice

Levster

So I am currently on housing benefits and have a part time job at a bar. This means every month I take in my wage slip and they adjust my benefits accordingly which is fair enough. However, I am due a tax rebate very soon which normally gets added onto your wage slip...now I am worried that they will deduct my rebate AND my wage from my housing benefits, will that be the case? If so I will ask the tax office to send me my rebate in a cheque rather than add it onto my payslip...

Thanks in advance
x

krisskross

Levster wrote: »

So I am currently on housing benefits and have a part time job at a bar. This means every month I take in my wage slip and they adjust my benefits accordingly which is fair enough. However, I am due a tax rebate very soon which normally gets added onto your wage slip...now I am worried that they will deduct my rebate AND my wage from my housing benefits, will that be the case? If so I will ask the tax office to send me my rebate in a cheque rather than add it onto my payslip...

Thanks in advance
x

I assume you have been receiving extra housing benefit if you have been paying too much tax and it is worked out on net income. So if receiving the tax rebate means you have to pay extra housing benefit it will all balance out. Just consider the extra housing benefit as a sort of loan until the tax is repaid.

Levster

I should be getting a rebate because I had two jobs, but then left one which means I was paying too much tax. It isn't anything to do with benefits (I don't think)

real1314

IIRC a tax refund is not treated as income, it is treated as capital, therefore you sholdn't have a problem.:cool:

skater_kat

real1314 wrote: »

IIRC a tax refund is not treated as income, it is treated as capital, therefore you sholdn't have a problem.:cool:

are you sure?

my tax refund was deducted from my JSA. i wrote to appeal and it remained the case.

krisskross

real1314 wrote: »

IIRC a tax refund is not treated as income, it is treated as capital, therefore you sholdn't have a problem.:cool:

Probably only talking £100 or so as it will be this tax year only if it is being paid in wages. Hardly capital.

real1314

skater_kat wrote: »

are you sure?

my tax refund was deducted from my JSA. i wrote to appeal and it remained the case.

Fairly sure, was it on your wage slip? Did the slip note it as a tax refund?

I'm *almost* certain I'm right on this one, but it's not an area I deal with any longer. :cool:

fluffymovie

Tax rebates are disregarded as income. HB won't be affected!

skater_kat

it was only £29 rebate i am talking about, but basically they took that as £29 extra on top of my monthly money for april so they took about 6.70 per week off my JSA for april. i wrote to the benefit decision centre saying it was a rebate, sent them my payslip as proof (marked as rebate on there) yadda yadda - it still stood! i know it is not a lot of money but it is the principle!!!

fluffymovie

Found this in the Decision Makers Guide for JSA claimants. Not a JSA expert but looks like you might be able to appeal....

Income tax refunds

26060 Earnings of employed earners are taxed under the PAYE scheme by direct
deduction from wages or salary. Any refunds of income tax should be treated as
capital
1
(see DMG 32782 for the exception to this rule in trade dispute cases).
1 JSA Regs, reg 110(2); IS (Gen) Regs, reg 48(2)

catz1ct

fluffymovie wrote: »

Tax rebates are disregarded as income. HB won't be affected!

Yep this is correct!