housing benefits top up for working couple with children ??

Gibson_87

Hello...we are both a working couple i do 40hrs pw and my partner does 18 hrs pw...we have just moved into our first home and the council dont wanna seem to help...there is a couple who work more hours than us and are on better money but they get quite a lot of top up from the council...any ideas why this is ? anyone we can speak to for advice etc...we are in the devon area if that helps...also since declaring the move all her child tax credits have stopped..can they do this as she has 1 child already and we have another on the way...any help be great.

thanks

Okydoky25

How much do you both earn? Do you pay for childcare?

Cate1976

I assume you're renting your property. As you're both working, you need to apply to your local council for Housing Benefit, the amount you get depends on your income for which there are certain disregards. The first thing is that if you're renting privately, the maximum amount of HB you get is set by LHA which is how many bedrooms you need for your household, for you it'll be the 2 bed rate for your area.

Here's the link to the allowances & premiums which are used to work out your applicable amount or 'what the law says you need to live on':

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a2-2013.pdf

The figures relevant for you each week are:
Couple rate £112.55
Child £65.62 per child
Family Premium £17.40

The next thing the council will do is to work out your income from both your jobs.
For wages/salary, it's the net figure which is used.
The first £10 week is disregarded and there's an additional £17.10 disregard.
Child tax credits are fully counted as income.
Child Benefit is disregarded.

For childcare, £175 week is disregarded for 1 child, for 2 children it's £300.

The one I'm not sure on is deductions from wages/salary for pension contributions are disregarded.

If your income exceeds your applicable amount then HB is reduced at rate of 65p per pound until income exceeds applicable amount by 65% at which point you're not entitled to any HB.

Be warned that HB is paid every 4 weeks and is calculated weekly even if you pay rent monthly. The safest way to do it is to take your monthly rent, multiply it by 12 and divide by 13, it's likely that you'll have a shortfall each calendar month.

Also apply for help with your Council Tax.

Regarding the tax credits, were you living together before moving? If you weren't then tax credits will stop due to your partner's single claim ending and you needing to apply jointly. If you were claiming as a joint claim before the move, then moving shouldn't stop the claim. When my husband & I moved from Northern Ireland to England last year, our CTC didn't stop. The one we did have hassle with was CB.