Change of situation :/

Needahome

I've just confirmed my place at university and obviously have to change my status for my and my partners tax credits claim. I will be cancelling my self-employment on Monday as i'll be a full time student within a few weeks. Where do i sit with tax credits? We currently get around £80 per week, but im worried we'll lose these now im back in f/t education and not working (although i will look for part time work).

What should I expect? Less tax credits? Is there anything I can claim for to help? I looked through the direct.gov site and i find it a bit baffling with few answers. Could you guys help me? It's dawned on me that i may be worse off than i thought possible.

PippaGirl_2

If this is your first undergraduate degree and are a British Citizen you are eligible for student finance.

As a full time student you will be exempt from council tax so if your partner is the only other adult where you live there will be a single person discount of 25%.

Needahome

PippaGirl wrote: »

If this is your first undergraduate degree and are a British Citizen you are eligible for student finance.

As a full time student you will be exempt from council tax so if your partner is the only other adult where you live there will be a single person discount of 25%.

Hi, yes it's my first undergraduate degree. I get student finance and a grant, it works out to £7150, but i'll be living away from my family.

Needahome

Ok, a yay or nay should suffice please, i've looked over it a bit more in detail.

My partner works an average of 33 hrs per week and on PAYE earns £12,500 per year.
I worked 40hrs per week self employed and earnt (approx)£10,000 taxable income.

From this we were getting around £80 per week credits.

Now, my situation is changing to full time education. But my partner still fulfils the 30hr week criteria for working tax credits, so I assume our benefits should either stay the same, or increase as I haven't worked at all this tax year, despite being registered self-employed(rough year, have been looking for work, haven't claimed a bean). I presume then, that our child tax credits should rise as it's means tested and i've earnt zilch whilst my partners earnings have remained the same, and I will be a full time student.

Is my assessment of the situation correct, or am I missing a very important point?

PippaGirl_2

I don't know the answer but just wanted to mention that student finance isn't taken into account wrt tax credits, so if you claim that it would not affect the amount you get. That's the case with CTC anyway so I assume it's the same for WTC

princessdon

It should increase as your bursary /grant isn't taken into account so only your OH will be taken into account.

have you popped your details into the calculator for an exact figure?

Oh and good luck with your course

Needahome

PippaGirl wrote: »

I don't know the answer but just wanted to mention that student finance isn't taken into account wrt tax credits, so if you claim that it would not affect the amount you get. That's the case with CTC anyway so I assume it's the same for WTC

Sorry Pippa, I just realised I came across as rude, I didn't mean it, i've been panicking as uni has crept up quick and i've been living off my savings(had planned to anyway) and was petrified of my partner not getting anything whilst im away. I do appreciate your help, it did help, I didnt realise that, which is nice

princessdon wrote: »

It should increase as your bursary /grant isn't taken into account so only your OH will be taken into account.

have you popped your details into the calculator for an exact figure?

Oh and good luck with your course

Thank you, according to the calculator it will go up, although that thing isn't accurate from what i've gathered, dealing with hmrc. Thank you for the luck, after the construction industry died I felt the time was right for a change, my decision had been vindicated many times with mates out of work almost permanently and poor work conditions. Losing our WTC and CTC would've forced me to work more than I would study, and I want top grades.

Thank you both for your help. fwiw you're more help then that bloody hmrc site. :beer:

princessdon

It should be pretty accurate (only time it's not is when people give wrong info - not taking into account pensions etc - they are deductable)

But as you have no childcare - it shouldn't be too far off

That is my understanding anyway