please can someone help me with tax credits??

kath44

hello
i have been recieving child tax credits and working tax credits,but now my son has turned 20 and they have stopped them both!they say i now need to work a minimum of 30 hours per week to qualify for working tax credits,i currently work 28 hours,i live alone with my son who is now claiming job seekers allowance and he is in college one day per week,without the tax credits i can no longer afford the rent for the house we are in,which i privately rent,i there anything i can claim to help me,any comments would be appreciated.
thanks
kath

Icequeen99

If your WTC has stopped, you may be able to claim Housing benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Is there any way you can increase your hours to 30?

IQ

kath44

i am going to find out tonight if i can increase my hours to 30,but dont hold out much hope,its crazy all this for that extra 2 hours!

Cherry_Bomb

kath44 wrote: »

its crazy all this for that extra 2 hours!

Not really. Provided you're fit and healthy it's not unreasonable to expect an adult to work fulltime. Or at least more than 28hrs a week

Fair enough if you've got health issues or some other valid reason you're unable to work more then that's different and I can see why you might look at it as 'crazy'

kath44

the thing i am getting at is that i have two part time jobs and i am on a low income,and without the tax credits i know i cant afford the rent,but the two jobs only come to 28 hours.

BigAunty

Double check your entitlements on the Turn2us online benefit checker to see if you qualify for local housing allowance. The Direct Gov website will tell you your maximum LHA and the benefit checker will take into account your income.

How much keep does your son pay out of his £53 JSA?

kath44

£15 per week,and thats like getting blood out of a stone,lol

Vejovis

did your son reaching 20 come as a surprise? you've had 20 years to find a full time job. imo WTC for childless people shouldn't kick in before 35 hours at least, because you have no reason not to work full time unless you are ill. you have 2 part time jobs, why not look for a 3rd, many people do.

missmontana

Maybe you should show him all the rent and bills and explain he needs to contribute more than £15 pw!

As others have said, you may be entitled to HB/LHA.

Are there any other areas you can save money on?

Sixer

Vejovis wrote: »

did your son reaching 20 come as a surprise? you've had 20 years to find a full time job. imo WTC for childless people shouldn't kick in before 35 hours at least, because you have no reason not to work full time unless you are ill. you have 2 part time jobs, why not look for a 3rd, many people do.

Presumably because it is clearly better to work 28 hours than be on JSA? Or 20 hours? Or 16 hours? Or even 8 hours? Complete worklessness is surely to be avoided?

The extension of jobseeking conditionality within the forthcoming Universal Credit is presumably planned to do away with this perceived anomaly between tax credits (no conditionality and no incentive to work more than the minimum) and JSA (full conditionality, discouraging part-time or temporary work). It will be clear to all that *some* work is better than *no* work, but top up benefits will be based on the requirement to find full-time hours if currently only doing part-time hours (with allowances for those with children).

kath44

yes him reaching 20 was a total surprise,FOOL. there no full time jobs going here at the moment i am looking for a third and fourth if i can get one,full time jobs in this area only pay minimum wage anyway all i want to know is what i am legally entitled too!!!