Tax discussion -was -At the risk of being flamed !!

Contains_Mild_Peril

arushofblood wrote:

Seems there are other benefits if I aquire self employment status too ? ( Along with my single status that should be finalised soon ). Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit ? I'm presuming this is a different thing to the monthly child benefits payments ? Sorry if this should now be on another forum !

Yes, you should be entitled to WTC and CTC. CTC is a set amount paid for each child you have, whereas WTC is calculated based on your income. Unfortunately the tax credit system is in chaos, with many awards delayed and then wrong when they finally arrive. When you get a tax credit award, you must check the details carefully: if you are overpaid as a result of their mistake but the erroneous details were printed on the award letter they send, then you will be held responsible for not noticing.

arushofblood

Thanks Mild Peril. Was I correct in thinking the CTC is different to Child Benefit then ? Ooo, I've so much to learn as an lone working mother !! Just reading up on divorce and pensions.... !

Sugar_Coated_Owl

Isn't life confusing

How are things going with eBay arushofblood?

arushofblood

Hi razorbladekises...oooeeerr

Ebay ticking over for the weekend thx. At least the mortgage can be paid for another month, lol.

Just working out my budget with the help of Martin's Budget Planner !!! Don't quite know what's come over me, I've never done this sort of thing before ! Quite scary how much it costs just to live !!!!! There's me being a quiet walkover with regards my divorce entitlements....Well that's gonna have to change ! Probably need the £60K Ebay turnover as well at this rate, lol !!!

Sugar_Coated_Owl

lol At least you're making good progress.

arushofblood

razorbladekisses wrote:

lol At least you're making good progress.

Well I was until I realised my expediture each month was £800 more than my income !! That's not including paying for car maintenance, holidays, birthdays, Christmas, clothes, days out, meals out, nights out or 'goodies'

Sorry, I guess I should now be on the Debt Free Wanna Be thread

You can see why some folk stay in an unhappy marraige !!

HugoSP

The OPs problem is simlar to one that my accountant helped me out of recently.

Since around 1996 we have rented out a flat. We never got around to declaring the income as it was always below wife's personal allowance.

We just let it rumble on......

When I went into self employment I did the usual thing, I informed HMRC etc and thought all was well. However, there were also joint earnings on a property recently rented out plus this flat in wifes name. The accountant seemed to use a grappling iron to drag all this dirt out of me;)

I was glad that they did. We worked together to identify sensible deductions that meant that the wife was below her tax allowance for each year she had the flat. When the final spreadsheet was arrived at the accountant did not consider it necessary to approach HMRC about the previous 6 years, as there was no tax to pay. He advised me that they would just turn around to him and say "So what?"

Just in case they do ask, the accounts, together with wife's earnings are ready to show them.

Sugar_Coated_Owl

arushofblood wrote:

Well I was until I realised my expediture each month was £800 more than my income !! That's not including paying for car maintenance, holidays, birthdays, Christmas, clothes, days out, meals out, nights out or 'goodies'

Sorry, I guess I should now be on the Debt Free Wanna Be thread

You can see why some folk stay in an unhappy marraige !!

Is your income just from eBay or do you have another job as well?

Is there anything that you can cut back on?

arushofblood

My income is just from Ebay, plus maintenance from the kids father and Child Benefit. It suits me as a lone parent to be able to have the flexibity that working from home provides, being around in the holidays , before and after school, when they're ill, taking them to after school clubs. I gues though I need to go back into full time employmemt as well as Ebay. Looking at the expenditure, there isn't too much I can cut back on without effecting the kids... clubs, school trips, petrol taxiing them. Other than my hairdressing fees, there's nothing on there for me ! Makes me feel so bad with the kids though as it was me that decided to end things and put us in this position.

Sugar_Coated_Owl

Awww don't be so hard on yourself. It must have taken a lot of courage to leave an unhappy marriage. You should be proud of yourself for what you have achieved. Not everyone can make a living from eBay.

I'm sure you do everything possible to ensure your children have the best things in life.