help working out tax/child tax credits

mummyjonno

FBaby wrote: »

I'm not having a go at you personally OP, I understand you are only claiming what you are entitled to, but I believe taking into account all benefits received purely on the basis of your child's disability, you are probably over £500 better off each month. It is hard to believe that this amounts to all the additional costs occured. Non disabled children also have toys, and some might be very expensive to depending on their interest.

As stated above, you might trully have been working despite a newborn if your child wasn't disabled, but that can't be assumed for every mum caring for a disabled child, yet, all would get the same amount.

To be totally honest, I suspect if I were in your shoes, I would probably claim just the same, so not personal, but I do feel that the benefit system seem to provide a lot for a certain group of people whilst very much forgetting others in need too.

Oh I know you weren't my love. I re read what I'd written and it look's like I was offended (i'm not in the slightest)

I do agree though. We get £309 i believe DLA and £203 (could be wrong by a few pounds) carers allowance already to which we are happy about as it's a lot of work and expenses to raise him although to be fair I don't see it as anything other than being a mum and raising my children but it's all I'm used too. It's not until he's around or compared to "normal" children that I see a difference.

We didn't know anything about the disability parts until they mentioned them on the phone when ordering the paperwork. We just figured as prior to having our daughter we weren't entitled to TC and maybe now we would be.

mummyjonno

nannytone wrote: »

its more than £500 a month.

even if theres no mobility componant ...

high rate care x 4 .... £320 (approx)

tax credits £81 x 4 ...£324

Carers allowance £58 x 4......£232

so nearer £900 every 4 weeks.
so approx £11.000 plus on top of a 32k wage.

sorry OP, nothing personal against you. I'm sure your life is far from easy.

but i dont see that throwing these kinds of sums as you really makes it that musch easier.
seems extortionate!

It make's it easier financially to help with him I know that much but I do agree. Throwing money at someone will never change the disability nor will it ever help it. I did actually spend 2 years thinking he wasn't entitled to DLA so never applied.

Dla and CA is more than enough help and aids us to put a little away for him too. Wasn't expecting the £81 pw on top of that too.

mummyjonno

princessdon wrote: »

I could *probably* get DLA for my child.

But she doesn't cost me a penny (well she does but not for disability reasons, more her like of designer shops, piano lessons, dance shoes etc).

I can see why people are astounded at the rate - because not ALL children who receive DLA have a financial impact, maybe there should be a more tierred system?

Agreed!!! I know plenty of people who get DLA middle rate and up however their children have ASD don't suffer much more than normal life and don't have the expenses. As far as I am aware my son was only given high rate because he's up during the night (hence 2 hours sleep for mummy) and he is a good long way away from being toilet trained so needing nappies changed still. If that wasn't the case I'd be on middle rate.

merlin68

These children are more expensive though, i get the same but £360 has just gone on 4 days a week respite throughout the school holidays. She also attends a special school, which costs a fortune as they do a lot more trips and residentials.
Hospital appointments a trip to gosh can cost at least £100, plus broomfield hospital. there all an hours drive from me, plus parking and petrol.
this year her school have gone to france, suffolk and dorset which cost me £500, eldest dd just finished her school at 16 and they never had all these trips

princessdon

merlin68 wrote: »

These children are more expensive though, i get the same but £360 has just gone on 4 days a week respite throughout the school holidays. She also attends a special school, which costs a fortune as they do a lot more trips and residentials.
Hospital appointments a trip to gosh can cost at least £100, plus broomfield hospital. there all an hours drive from me, plus parking and petrol.
this year her school have gone to france, suffolk and dorset which cost me £500, eldest dd just finished her school at 16 and they never had all these trips

I agree that many will need it but not all. A very close friend has a child born with a heart condition, he's perfectly normal - no additional needs following his Operation aged 5 weeks old. Once he's 10 years or so he will need an aditional Op, he's not on medication bar aspirin yet she gets DLA and disability CTC. I'm not blaming her (everyone is struggling financially), but in reality to compare the needs of that person to what yourself and other posters have it's not the same.

FBaby

I think there is a massive confusion between extra benefits to help with extra costs, and benefits as a way of compensation for raising or being a disabled person.

A disabled child cost more than....than what? The average child, all children? There are a number of children who are not disabled but also cost more than the average child for many various reasons.

I am in twofolds around this because I do not know what it is like to raise a disabled child however disabled they are. Is it fair to receive compensation because their lives are not what they might have aspired to before they learnt about the disability? At the same time, I know many parents who struggle to support their children financially, they have to make many compromises and they too will probably never have the life they might have aspired to for other reasons (redundancies, losses etc...).

I have to admit that the few families I know who receive DLA for their children seem to be doing very well indeed and ever since the day I discovered that my friend who was on full benefits and claiming DLA for her child who had a learning difficulty but doing ok, in mainstream school etc... had more disposable income at the end of the month than I working full-time earning way above the average salary, I have felt a bit miffed about it.

I feel that there is some serious disparity in how DLA is allocated, that a family with a child who has some learning difficulties, but in mainstream school, and still enjoying a 'normal' life as a whole might receive not much less than a family with a child with a serious condition, not able to do anything at all without their main carer, up EVERY night, rather than the occasional one, but exagerated on the form, not being able to go on any holiday because it wouldn't cater for the child's need, with the constant worry that the child could pass away anytime etc... That would certainly justify a much bigger 'compensation', but then again, we are back to whether DLA and the rest is compensation or help with extra costs of the child, and the fact that not all disabled children forceably cost more than all non-disabled children.

Sixer

I must admit, I find disabled premiums within tax credits confusing. DLA either copes with providing a reasonable contribution towards extra costs or it doesn't. But of course, it probably isn't enough for the severely disabled. So, rather than making a non means-tested benefit sufficient for that reasonable contribution, the extra requirement is added into a means tested benefit: tax credits.

So it's a money-saving exercise, not an extra money exercise.

I also think services and benefits for disabled children (well, people) are simply too piecemeal. In some areas, the nappy service is excellent. In some areas, it isn't. Likewise with respite care. Likewise with support workers. Likewise with schools. Likewise with hospital transport or relative accommodation.

Overall, therefore, and even not including the obvious wide difference in individual needs that a 3-tier benefit has to cover, the same DLA recipient in Area A could find life very easy indeed, with no need to pay for hospital relative stays, extra nappies, respite care etc, while in Area B they would struggle to make the DLA payment cover what they need.

mummyjonno

I personally deam DLA to be more than enough to care for a child with my son's needs and to buy all the extras although I believe that to rate we get (high) should be middle and there be a higher rate for those with what I would consider seriously disabled aka can't walk, talk, blind, deaf, life threatoning. When you think about it they'd need so much more help than my son yet they are on the same award. I know we get high rate to compensate for my lack of sleep (although you can't buy sleep I wish you could) and for him needing 24 hour care for nappy changes ect. Otherwise he would have been awarded middle.

In relation to the mainstream schooling more often than not they put them in mainstream school instantly (with a statement meaning they have a care assistant helper all to themselves) usually this works and children do struggle but not drastically enough. I believe this is all about money. It costs less to give them a statement and a carer than it does to put them in a special needs school. (been through this entire process with them since January and my son is still being sent to mainstream) I know for a fact he won't cope carer or not so it's all a matter of them proving me right at my son's educational expense now.