What is my 'income' regarded as?

GettingBackOnTrack_2

Hello all

First time poster so please go easy on me! Here's our situation:

I am a full time post graduate PhD student. I have been awarded a scholarship which is paid quarterly by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council). It is a tax-free stipend that is intended for general living costs and course costs.

My husband had a full-time job, earning around £14,500pa, and we have one 16 month old baby. When my husband was working full time, we were claiming child benefit, child tax credits and working tax credits. My scholarship was NOT taken into account by HMRC for tax credits as it is not taxable / not a wage.

Sadly, my husband's working hours have been cut to 16 hours per week. This will give us a weekly income from his wage of £118. We have stopped claiming WTC.

We have applied for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, but the lady doing the claim really had no idea about my studentship and didn't 'get' that it wasn't a wage, govt bursary or loan. She told me that if it is a 'charitable' or 'voluntary' payment, that it would be disregarded and we'd be eligible for full HB and CTB. However, if it is regarded as a 'wage' (I don't get a wage slip, P60 etc) we are not entitled to any help.

I know it's just a case of waiting until the application has been processed, but this is really worrying me - if we don't get any help we can't afford to pay our bills - we'll be about £300pcm short which is an enormous amount to us. I can hardly think about anything else and it's affecting my sleep. I'm so worried.

Can anyone shed any light as to what my studentship is considered as for HB and CTB purposes? We live in the East Riding of Yorkshire if this helps.

Thanks in advance

BigAunty

AFAIK, just because a form of income does not be regarded as taxable by the HMRC in terms of the way it is treated on a tax return does not mean that it is excluded as income for means tested benefits.

I can't see why your stipend would be ignored - income from other non-employed sources, such as investments and pensions are included as income when it comes to HB/CT claims, including the tax free income received by landlords under the rent a room scheme for lodgers, for example.

However, these are my thoughts based on the general principles of means tested benefits, not fact - perhaps your Uni has an expert benefit advisor.

Not sure if these links will help but I'm sure someone will be a long in a minute with more specific knowledge than me.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/rr2-a-guide-to-housing-benefit/students/

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/housing_benefit_for_students

Hmm71

I think it would just come under the "other income" section of your application form. So the chances are it would be included, especially as it was granted for general living costs, as well as coursecosts, which presumably includes rent.

GettingBackOnTrack_2

Thanks for the replies.

It's not that I think it should be disregarded as such, as obviously I'm receiving some money; it's more a case of whether it should be classed as a charity/voluntary payment or as 'income'. The HB officer who completed the application form with us asked me which of the two options I thought it should go in ... I had no idea! We've just put it as an additional note for the council to determine where they think it best fits. At first the HB officer said it was an income, but then got very confused when I told her I couldn't provide her with wage slips or P60s, so said it couldn't be classed as an income on the form. She then asked for a charity number from the ESRC to enter it as a charitable payment, but I don't have one of these either!

Naf

This is somewhat of a guess, but I'm a mature undergrad student with wife & 3 kids. We are entitled to HB, and most of my student support is classed as income, but with deductions to account for course costs & transport. It's very likely that there are few people within your council who actually know which bits are counted and which are not; and even those would need to look at their published guidelines for the details.
My suspicion is that because it is paid towards general living costs, that it will be classed as income, but with some amount exempt intended for your course costs. If you're doing it anyway, best to just take the proof of the exact amount in to do a change of circumstances. The person on the desk will then need to check in more detail to ensure they have all the information, or you will hear back from them when someone looks at it for recalculation.

EDIT: As above, probably 'other income'; that's what mine comes under on my benefit notification.

Hmm71

GettingBackOnTrack wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

It's not that I think it should be disregarded as such, as obviously I'm receiving some money; it's more a case of whether it should be classed as a charity/voluntary payment or as 'income'. The HB officer who completed the application form with us asked me which of the two options I thought it should go in ... I had no idea! We've just put it as an additional note for the council to determine where they think it best fits. At first the HB officer said it was an income, but then got very confused when I told her I couldn't provide her with wage slips or P60s, so said it couldn't be classed as an income on the form. She then asked for a charity number from the ESRC to enter it as a charitable payment, but I don't have one of these either!

I wouldn't panic too much just yet. If your council is anything like mine the people on the front desk don't have anything like the full training that the actual housing benefit officers have.

They have basic knowledge to try to help with general queries and they pass all the info over to the officers who do the calculations.

So it doesn't surprise me that whoever you spoke to wasn't very sure what to do about your student income.

Hopefully they will take into account your course costs as Naf
said. Good luck with your studies by the way. My brother gained his PhD a couple of years ago and he said it really was worth all the pain and hardship.

LL30

Definitely ring your Uni and ask for an appointment with the welfare advisor. I'm an MA student and get a bursary. Despite doing ALL the sums for them with the welfare advisor, and attaching all the relevant guidance for them, it took my council 4 months to get it right.

Tbf to them, it is very complex due to the disregards, but when you get your HB award, the sums are so confusing that you really need to be in the know to be able to decipher what they've taken into account - this is where the welfare advisor will be able to help you. I thought I knew what they'd done, but in the end we decided that they'd plucked figures out of the air (several times!)

xylophone

http://www.turn2us.org.uk/?page=19668
Anything here?