Maternity/ child tax credit benefits

jenand8285

Hi, I am hoping someone can help me. Me & the hubby would like to start a family, we currently have no children.


We both work full time with a joint annual income of £38k a year. I was under the impression the only money I would be entitled to was £128 a week SMP plus £20 a week, but then I looked at the child tax credit website and it said I could be entitle to £120 however it did not state if this was monthly or yearly....

Also, to complete the form I entered my current annual and net monthy salary so the calculation was based on that. But I was wondering if I could claim it from the start of maternity leave. Would I be entitled to more then?

I am just trying to get an idea of the benefits I would be entitled to (and more so the amount) so I can assess if we are financially ready to start a family.

drwho2011

jenand8285 wrote: »

Hi, I am hoping someone can help me. Me & the hubby would like to start a family, we currently have no children.


We both work full time with a joint annual income of £38k a year. I was under the impression the only money I would be entitled to was £128 a week SMP plus £20 a week, but then I looked at the child tax credit website and it said I could be entitle to £120 however it did not state if this was monthly or yearly....

Also, to complete the form I entered my current annual and net monthy salary so the calculation was based on that. But I was wondering if I could claim it from the start of maternity leave. Would I be entitled to more then?

I am just trying to get an idea of the benefits I would be entitled to (and more so the amount) so I can assess if we are financially ready to start a family.

Planning a family around possible benefit entitlement is never a good idea.

Anyways it will depend on your joint gross income and you and partners prevous tax year to childs birth and the tax year in which you deliver as to your possible entitlements.

£38k gross with 1 child = not a lot of state support


Try using https://www.turn2us.entitledto.co.uk/entitlementcalculator.aspx to get an idea of various scenarios

jenand8285

drwho2011 wrote: »

Planning a family around possible benefit entitlement is never a good idea.

Anyways it will depend on your joint gross income and you and partners prevous tax year to childs birth and the tax year in which you deliver as to your possible entitlements.

£38k gross with 1 child = not a lot of state support


Try using https://www.turn2us.entitledto.co.uk/entitlementcalculator.aspx to get an idea of various scenarios

I am not planning the family around the entitlement, I will be returning to work full time after the maternity leave. So it will only be for the nine months that I am on maternity that I will need to have an idea of the income coming in.

If I am only entitled to SMP & child benefit then I will be getting half of what I bring home now, with an extra mouth to feed, cloth etc so I think it is perfectly reasonable to try and assess what income loss we will have for nine months.

Thanks for the link.

merlin68

£10 a week maybe, but i believe from April you won't get anything if you earn over £26000.

caz246

I am on SML at the moment, I was getting £41 per month whilst on SMP, I have just informed them I am now on unpaid maternity leave and it has decreased to £33 per month? We don't earn as much as you and your husband so I doubt you will get much help.

kingfisherblue

You wouldn't get any CTC at the start of your maternity leave - it only begins after the birth of your child. Even then, it can take several weeks before a claim is sorted out and you recceive any money (if you are entitled to any). It might be helpful if you state how much of the £38k is your annual income and how much is your husband's, as CTC is based on household income. If your husband earns less than you do, you might be more likely to get some CTC, at least at first.

paddedjohn

jenand8285 wrote: »

I am not planning the family around the entitlement, I will be returning to work full time after the maternity leave. So it will only be for the nine months that I am on maternity that I will need to have an idea of the income coming in.

If I am only entitled to SMP & child benefit then I will be getting half of what I bring home now, with an extra mouth to feed, cloth etc so I think it is perfectly reasonable to try and assess what income loss we will have for nine months.

Thanks for the link.

You dont have to stay off for 9 months if you dont want to.

midnight_express

It's worth remembering that benefit rules / entitlement can change at anytime and frequently does.

jenand8285

Thank you for your replies. I earn £20k and the OH earns 18k. All being well, I would work right up to a fews weeks before due date to then have as much time as possible. I would like the full 9 months of paid leave off. I was initially only aware of SMP so the child benefit alone is a bonus.

MrsManda

If you want a baby you'll find a way to do it within your finances It's worth looking at your income and outgoings and working out where you can reduce your outgoings so that you can start saving now.

Presuming you start trying to concieve immediately you should have at least 9 months with you both working to save some money to tie you over while on maternity leave.

Jess23x

Sorry to say that you won't get much. Me and my partners combined salary is £48k per year and we receive £10 a week child tax credits and £80 per month child benefit. Good luck with starting your family inhope it goes well x