Should I pay tax on regular money from parents?

2sides2everystory

Vejovis wrote: »

so it's okay for the taxpayer to pay for people to have their cake and eat it s long as mummy and daddy are rich?

so if little Tarquin grows up to be a dosser, it's okay for mummy to send him cheques for a grand a week and for him to claim all the benefits he can, because it's a loved one sending him money?

Get a sense of perspective, will you? And you zzzLazyDaisy - maybe you have slept too long - fifty quid a month from Mum & Dad to be declared ? What are you on ?

East Germany and the Stasi networks were closed down twenty years ago for a reason.

Looks like with people like this about, OP you'd be advised to hide what your parents give you by continuing to let them pay bills directly or giving you cash.

Hope you get back on your own feet soon. Seems there's plenty who would like to see you suffer the pits first.

One last thing. You don't have any kid named Tarquin, I hope ? Just checking.

zzzLazyDaisy

2sides2everystory wrote: »

Get a sense of perspective, will you? And you zzzLazyDaisy - maybe you have slept too long - fifty quid a month from Mum & Dad to be declared ? What are you on ?

I personally know someone whose LHA was stopped pending an investigation into an undeclared regular £50 a month payment into their bank account. It was a payment from her parents to help out, and was held to be income, because it was a regular payment by standing order. She had to repay the overpayment. That is why I say it isn't worth the risk.

It makes no odds to me, 2sides, if you are on means tested benefits and you are receiving regular payments into your bank account from a relative to top up your income, that is your choice. Same goes for anyone else in that position. Personally I'd rather help my family with the occasional cash gift, or Tesco delivery, but that's my choice too. However, rudeness and sarcasm is uncalled for.

2sides2everystory

OK I do apologise for getting hold of the wrong end of the stick with your advice, zzzLazyDaisy, and your clarification of what you personally would prefer to do if it were your family is surely a useful measure of reasonableness. Covering Tesco deliveries could easily be £100 a week couldn't it (but noted you did say occasional)?

The risk you've highlighted is a real one, that much is clear, and it seems there are plenty who would prosecute it as something black and white whether it was fifty quid or four hundred. Small-mindedness is alive and well unfortunately.

somethingcorporate

And it should be when it comes to spending tax-payers money.

pelirocco

Arent you all assuming the OP claims benefits? , they were only asking if they had to pay tax on it

zzzLazyDaisy

To be fair, I don't think anyone is assuming anything.

Karenx pointed out that IF OP is on means tested benefits there may be other implications. The remaining discussion flowed from there. In my view, this is reasonable because other people read these threads, who may be in a similar position and therefore it is necessary to ensure that any information given is accurate.

2sides2everystory

somethingcorporate wrote: »

And it should be when it comes to spending tax-payers money.

And how does that sit with the policing and exposure of the massive taxpayer bailouts of corporates or even the one man six figure bonuses for people like Stephen 'his Mum loves him' Hester? There's 20,000 fifty quids in £1M yet I don't see you contributing to any thread calling for that to be stopped ?

iluvmarmite

I think the words tax payers money, dole scum, and scroungers are the most commonly used words on this forum!! It really gets my back up at times that some can be so to the letter of everything, My daughter has got 5 month old triplets, is a single parent, cannot work so therefore claims benefits, she sees some pretty baby dresses in the shop, cant afford them so I give her the money for them, her electric bill arrives, its rather high due to the cold weather and the need to keep the babies warm, she cant afford it, I give her the money for it.

I do this at least once or twice a month, £20, maybe £50 at a time, in cash by the way, so what some are saying now is she should immediatly ring the benefits office and inform them that because the money she recieves from them is not enough to live on and I give her some money when needed, she wants them to take that from her benefits? What the hell would that achieve, she would be in exactly the same position. I cannot see the harm in relatives helping out their kids when they can and when they need to, for gods sake Im sure the tax payers wouldnt begrudge a few quid now and then.

real1314

Does anyone on this thread actually have any real knowledge of the regulations that apply to voluntary payments / income?

What the OP has suggested is most definitely a Voluntary Payment; Nothing is expected in return.

It doesn't affect IS/JSA/ESA/HB/CTB/PC-GC

:cool:

zzzLazyDaisy

iluvmarmite wrote: »

I do this at least once or twice a month, £20, maybe £50 at a time, in cash by the way, so what some are saying now is she should immediatly ring the benefits office and inform them

I don't think anyone is saying that. Quite the opposite.

What is being said is that a regular set amount going into her bank account on a monthly basis could very well be viewed as income for means tested benefits, whereas gifts for your grandchild, or the occasional gift of money would not normally be viewed as income.

In the end it really doesn't matter what we think. It is the application of the benefits rules that matters. I doubt that what you are doing would fall foul of the benefit rules - BUT - I am not a benefits adviser. If I were your daughter I would gratefully accept your help, and I'd make sure that I didn't tell any 'friends and neighbours'. You would be surprised and shocked who might take it upon themselves to report her, and even if no action is taken, it is a truly horrible experience.