How many hours can my wife work?

Timmy_Magic

Hi all

I currently work full time (37 hours) and my wife would like to start working part time now that our youngest will be going to school shortly. We currently receive child tax credit but not working tax credit.

Just wondering if there was a limit on amount of hours she can work before it affects our child tax credit.

I apologise if this has been asked many times before but I have searched the forum and cannot see an answer.

Many thanks for your help

enabledebra

For working tax credits there is a miniumum number of hours a couple needs to work (24 in total with 1 person working at least 16 hours)

There's no maximum re working hours but earnings can reduce entitlement. Child tax credits aren't affected by working hours. You can check how different levels of earnings would affect your entitlements by using this calculator: http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

HappyMJ

Timmy_Magic wrote: »

Hi all

I currently work full time (37 hours) and my wife would like to start working part time now that our youngest will be going to school shortly. We currently receive child tax credit but not working tax credit.

Just wondering if there was a limit on amount of hours she can work before it affects our child tax credit.

I apologise if this has been asked many times before but I have searched the forum and cannot see an answer.

Many thanks for your help

Every pound she earns will reduce the household entitlement to tax credits by 41 pence next year.

Charityworker

HappyMJ wrote: »

Every pound she earns will reduce the household entitlement to tax credits by 41 pence next year.

So once again the government are making people worse off for working?

HappyMJ

Charityworker wrote: »

So once again the government are making people worse off for working?

How is keeping 59 pence from every pound earnt making someone worse off for working?

dundeediva

Charityworker wrote: »

So once again the government are making people worse off for working?

Actually most people are better off in work. However people seem to compare benefits and working the bare minimum hours required to still get benefits. If you work full time, you will be better off. If you get a job and you are good at it there may be scope for pay rises. You dont get them with benefits. Simples

shedboy94

dundeediva wrote: »

Actually most people are better off in work. However people seem to compare benefits and working the bare minimum hours required to still get benefits. If you work full time, you will be better off. If you get a job and you are good at it there may be scope for pay rises. You dont get them with benefits. Simples

I agree........apart from the pay rise bit......Tax Credits go up every year at a higher rate than inflation.......my wages don't!!! :mad::mad:

skintmacflint

To be honest I'd suggest if your wife can find any work that pays no matter the hours to take it, even if it doesn't initially work out much to your advantage.

So far the government has implemented less than 50% of the cuts they budgeted for to 2013. There's another 15 to 25 billion cuts being looked at for between 2014/2015, so rates and relevant hours may change signifificantly over the next 2 years.

And they'll be looking at further cuts to Working Tax Credits (28 billion) Child Benefit (11billion) and Housing Benefit (14 billion).

While I understand no one wants to be worse off for working, it's shortsighted to limit maximum potential earning capacity/work because of benefit rates paid as they may soon change.

Classic example is long term IB was never earnings related. So they changed a parliamentary bill, and it now is after 12 months. Many people with partners who work are now up to £400 per month worse off but still unfit to work.

Much better to be as financially independent of benefits as you can be .things look as if they will get much worse in the coming years. Unless by some miracle this government manages to bring some decent paid full time jobs back into this country or manages to close all the legal tax loops of large corporations and their fellow millionaires.

zagfles

shedboy94 wrote: »

I agree........apart from the pay rise bit......Tax Credits go up every year at a higher rate than inflation.......my wages don't!!! :mad::mad:

Most tax credits elements didn't go up at all this year and those that did didn't go up more than inflation.

jamesmorgan

HappyMJ wrote: »

How is keeping 59 pence from every pound earnt making someone worse off for working?

Except that doesn't take into account income tax at 20% and National Insurance at 12%. Travel expenses getting to and from work, and other expenses such as clothing and possibly child-care. You are unlikely to be worse off through working, but don't expect to see much additional net income. That is not to say that there are not lots of other benefits from working, but the current structure of tax credit withdrawal rates means that money is rarely one of them.

That said, it is easy to complain about the structure of what we have today - more difficult to find simple solutions.

McKneff

I just wish people would take more responsibility for themselves and the children the choose to create instead of doing the very minimum they need to do before it effects their benefits.

And ask the very people who work to pay for those benefits for help in working the system. Its a mad mad world.