Tax Credits advice.

Tom_Saunders

Ok, friends of ours have "split" up but are still living together. We all do similar type jobs, both men each around £30k per year and both women around £8k.

They are still sleeping in the same bed (apparantly this stopped this week), altho opposite sides and there household bills have not increased. She is going off a couple of nights per week to meet her new boyfriend "sowing her oats"
I am fuming as she has been telling my wife she is now getting £700 per month tax credits, we get nothing.

What the hell is going on when my wife comes home and say's we'd be better of by nearly £8.5k after tax if we did the same.

Someone please explain, I am bloody fuming.:mad:

I have rung the tax claim lines and apparantly it is all legit.

princessdon

Annoying isn't it! I don't see how they have passed the "living with test" if they are still sharing a bed though!

But yes she is now technically a single mum - and gets all the extra help available to single mums.

It annoys me too - My hubby works away (no jobs locally) and so we have extra bills due to this. If I "played the system" and claimed single parent I'd get a lot of money based on my part time wages too.

They do run the risk of being investigated if they share a bedroom - shopping bills etc though - so who knows maybe in a few months when they are having to pay it all back you may have a slight smile.

Tom_Saunders

Thanks for the reply.

honestly I feel sicked to the back teeth, I understand if he moved out they will need help but he isn't going anywhere and she certainly wont as she works from home.

He new boyfriend lives 7 miles away, she says to the kids I'm off to see John and off she goes. They have apparantly this week start sleeping seperatly and their son who is ten (and this drives me mad) has to sleep on the sofa as she is in his bed.

There bills have NOT increased. Why do they get this extra money ??? someone please explain.

She started texting my wife again today and I just want to let rip and heaven help her when I do.

McKneff

Seems like some fiddling is going on or she is telling your wife porkies.

princessdon

it is REALLY hard to convince Tax Credits you are separated but living together still. Not impossible - but they don't like giving money where they don't have to.

But even you admit they are separated - if not I'd give you the details to report them.

Tom_Saunders

What I cannot work out to be honest is how they are entittled to the extra money when there expenses have no increased ?

She said to him Saturday I'm skint so he gave her money........

They haven't had sex for 4 years so apart from the fact she is now getting it elsewhere not a lot has changed.

There is no porkies as he is telling me everything.

princessdon

She is single therefore entitled to single benefits.

That is the way they look at it.

But they do applying "living together tests" and if they fail that (now or the future) they could be asked to pay it back.

A friend of mine is single (hubby left her) she claims. He pays a lot of maintenance (2K a month) and pays her mortgage - she gets single payments too - despite him paying most of her bills and giving her a massive wedge of cash!

It's the way the system is - There are other things very wrong with it too.

Eg someone can have a million pounds in the bank (in a none interest bearing account) and claim it based on income, couples can work 24 hours (used to be 16) a week only and get tops ups to full time wages etc etc.

FBaby

People living together are entitled to claim as 'single' people on the basis that they are still living together as temporary arrangements, ie. they need to sale the house, in the meantime, they can't afford to live separately etc... They would still be expected to live separately under the same roof, ie. she does her own shopping for her and kids, contributes towards the bills, and they don't enjoy a joint social life.

Do have they have a mortgage? Is the house for sale or about to be? They have probably managed to get away with it on this basis, which is all fair enough, but if in 6 months time, the house is still not close to being sold, or they have renewed the rental lease if they are renting, then tax credits might start to look at it very differently, and if they ascertain that they never had any intentions to separate, they will have to repay all extra benefits they claimed pretending to be single.

All you can do is sit and wait and decide if they are still living under the same roof in a few months time whether you wish to report them or not.

Icequeen99

It is entirely possible to ring the helpline, end a joint claim and claim as a single person and receive that money.

However, as many people on here have found out, when HMRC compliance teams start looking into these claims they often reverse the decision.

As someone else said, it is very difficult to show you are single when you are living with someone.

In this case, if they were married (rather than unmarried partners living together), they would have to show that they are separated in circumstances likely to be permanent. Normally HMRC expect solicitor letters, steps towards divorce, removal of names from things etc...

The helpline don't check any of this, they take it at face value if someone says they have split up. However, she may run into problems when the claim is checked later and may have to pay it back. So I wouldn't get too jealous.

IQ