New rules tax credits and carers allowance

alipoppet

Can anyone advise if me receiving carers allowance will qualify as working hours? I feel it should as it counts as income and I only get it because I care for 35hrs +! and I am worried that we will lose it with the new rules.

Currently we receive WTC as hubby works 16 hrs a week but we have two extremely disabled children that are completely dependant on us for everything - we can only claim one carers allowance as one of us is working but we do far and beyond 70hrs per week for both of them and I need hubby's help at home so do not want him to have to work longer hours as I would not get offered the equivelent help he gives.

thanks for reading

BigAunty

Here is some guidance from the HMRC on the new working tax credits for couples with children. AFAIK, the rules affect all non-disabled adult parents meaning that they must work 24 hours per week to qualify, with one adult working at least 16 of it.

Give them a call to double check.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcreditsbudget/index.htm#2

sky111

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sky111

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pacmum

I called them as soon as we got the letter ... no exemption from the 24 hour rule for carers. We've switched to income support (husband on carers / me working 16 hours / IS claim in his name) and the amount we receive is reduced to take account of my earnings.

kathyb1tch

A coalition of charities working for carers and disabled people, led by the LITRG, very much welcome the Government’s decision to allow couples where one partner is entitled to carer’s allowance to continue getting working tax credit (WTC) by working just 16 hours a week. Without this change, they would have been required to work 24 hours a week, with one partner working at least 16 hours, or face losing WTC.
The charities wrote to the responsible Minister, Chloe Smith MP, on 20 December 2011 and are delighted to see the change announced in regulations just laid before Parliament.

At the same time, such couples will for the first time be able to claim tax credits to cover their childcare costs.

John Andrews OBE, Chairman of LITRG, commented:

“We and our colleagues in partner organisations are delighted that the Government has listened to our concerns and agreed to this valuable change in their proposals. Couples with disabled children, who have to divide their time between caring for them and earning for the whole family, will find that a considerable burden and worry has been lifted from their shoulders. Without this relaxation they would have faced losing up to £3,870 a year they could ill afford.”

“While we very much welcome this change of direction, we remain very concerned for the hundreds of thousands of other couples facing this new 24 hour restriction, particularly at a time of economic difficulty when even those in work are not always able to secure the extra hours needed to keep their WTC entitlement going.”

The list of charities who wrote to the Minister is as follows:

Carers UK

Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC)

Every Disabled Child Matters

LASA

Learning Disability Coalition

Further details
Hitherto, couples with children could qualify for working tax credit (WTC) if one member of the couple was working at least 16 hours a week or more. But from April 2012, they will have to work 24 hours a week between them, not 16, with one member of the couple working at least 16 hours a week.

It was always intended that this change would not apply to couples if:

the partner who is working at least 16 hours per week is eligible for the disability element of WTC, or is aged 60 or over; or
one partner works at least 16 hours a week and the other partner is ‘incapacitated’, an in-patient in hospital, or in prison.
It has now been confirmed that a couple in which one of the partners is a full-time carer and entitled to carer’s allowance will also be exempt from the 24 hour rule – that is, they can carry on receiving WTC so long as the other partner works at least 16 hours a week.

In addition, from April 2012 the exception for a couple in which one of the partners receives carer’s allowance will extend also to the childcare element of WTC. In other words, the couple can receive support for childcare costs through tax credits so long as the partner whose time is not taken up with caring responsibilities is working at least 16 hours a week.

This is an entirely new exemption. Previously support for childcare was available to lone parents working a 16 hour week, whereas each partner in a couple had to work at least 16 hours a week before the couple could jointly claim the childcare element (i.e. 32 hours a week between them). The only exceptions for couples were if one partner was incapacitated, an in-patient, or in prison, and the other worked at least 16 hours.

It is not yet clear just how HMRC will operate the new rule. Their systems may not be able to identify couples who fall within one of the exceptions, and those couples may have to come forward and tell HMRC.

(19-03-2012)

Icequeen99

As noted above, this extra concession for carers was announced in the Budget (Paragraph 2.95 of the main document).

It means if you work at least 16 hours, and your partner is entitled to Carer's Allowance, you will still get tax credits and won't have to work 24.

But, you need to contact HMRC and tell them.

IQ

kathyb1tch

I rang the HMRC yesterday and they told me they knew nothing of this and that we werent entitled to the WTC as partner only works 16 hours. What do i do now?

Murgatroyd21

kathyb1tch wrote: »

I rang the HMRC yesterday and they told me they knew nothing of this and that we werent entitled to the WTC as partner only works 16 hours. What do i do now?

It just means the adviser who took your call hasn't been updated with this info yet.

Couples, where one of them is entitled to carers allowance don't need to meet the 24 hour rule.

kathyb1tch

I rang again this morning and was told the same thing. I am fed up now, my entitlement ends in 2 weeks. i have written a letter to them now and hope that this works.

kathyb1tch

woop woop woop, i have rung them again and this timei spoke to someone who knew about the exemption the the new rule and has now adjusted my award, i will now be entitled to the WTC again. So for anyone else who knows they are entitled DONT GIVE UP!!!