Tax credits and child maintenance question

EJay_2

Hi All,

Yes, I'm a newbie and I have trawled the threads to find an answer but can't. Perhaps someone could either point me in the right direction or might take a bit of time to help me.

I'll begin.... my son used to live with me but now lives with his father. Since then I married and had a child. I work part time and have recently become part self employed. My income from employment is 300 a month and last year only 100 from self employment and as a result, my tax credits are high, we get £213 per week which includes the childcare element (I pay £70 per week for childcare for the time I work and understand that tax credits pay 70% of that). My husband is also self employed but for the last year had no income. My ex put in a claim with the CSA and it's come back stating that I contribute £35 a week for our child's upbringing. Apparently they take into account the 'income' from tax credits (which is high because we don't earn much) and even include the childcare element for my youngest in all of this which seems bizarre. I'm not sure what to do because we were struggling and eating into savings to a degree before this and now, I'm going to be faced with a bill for the months they've taken to work this out plus the ongoing 35 a week.

I have read, but don't know if this is true, that if my husband's income was greater than mine then I wouldn't be eligible for nearly as much in CSA contributions because he would be seen as the 'earner' of the tax credits - is this true?

Before this happened, it sometimes seemed as though I was working for very little gain once I'd taken out the cost of running my car etc, but now with the CSA bill, it will actually cost me to work. If I do give up my job though I'm faced with working less than 16 hours and so won't get tax credits unless I can build up the self employed side of things but this is not guaranteed work or income so it would be difficult to say with certainty that I could do this. Also, if my circumstances do change financially, how long is it before the CSA act upon this?

Any advice would be appreciated, I'm not looking to get out of paying for my son but this amount is totally unreasonable. His father is well off and has a well-paid job so it's not as if he's going without, which is more than I can say for my youngest child now.

EJay_2

Oop, sorry, I thought I had!

FBaby

Yes if your husband earn more than you then tax credits are not taken into account so that would be a way to ensure that you contribute nothing towards your eldest child whilst relying solely in benefits for your family income. Of course tout could get a job that pays instead and show your eldest that you value supporting him as much as your youngest.

EJay_2

Thank you, FBaby, for your constructive comments. If you had chosen to read my post you would notice that I do not rely solely on benefits, I do have a job, albeit a lowly paid, part-time affair but perhaps this is a combination of my child being under two years old and needing me and the dire employment in the area. I am also trying to start my own business, hence I am part self employed. My post explained that I was happy to contribute towards my elder child but 35 a week seemed excessive, particularly when I remember that when the child resided with me his father paid just 20 a week whilst earning 20k a year and having no other children.

Incidentally, I don't spend 35 a week on my youngest child who lives with me so I was explaining I found it a bit excessive paying that much for a child who doesn't when his father earns loads.

I had hoped for a more constructive response when asking for advice but it appears that you don't let small matters such as reading the details of what someone actually wrote get in the way of having a pop at them.

FBaby

I just don't understand why a family with two children to support would both hang on to two self employed jobs that bring next to nothing in income especially when there is childcare costs involved. Of course you could stop your self employment completely and then you definitely wouldn't have to pay a penny at all and many nrps do take that stands. My position is that if you have children whether they live with your at all you should be supporting them as a priority. I assume if you earned the same income working that's what toy would pay so done see why it should be any different just because the income derives from benefits.

I don't agree with your mindset but I have given you the advice you asked that is that yes if your partner earns more than you the working tax element doesn't count towards maintenance although I believe the child element all does.

bloolagoon

EJay wrote: »

Thank you, FBaby, for your constructive comments. If you had chosen to read my post you would notice that I do not rely solely on benefits, I do have a job, albeit a lowly paid, part-time affair but perhaps this is a combination of my child being under two years old and needing me and the dire employment in the area. I am also trying to start my own business, hence I am part self employed. My post explained that I was happy to contribute towards my elder child but 35 a week seemed excessive, particularly when I remember that when the child resided with me his father paid just 20 a week whilst earning 20k a year and having no other children.

Incidentally, I don't spend 35 a week on my youngest child who lives with me so I was explaining I found it a bit excessive paying that much for a child who doesn't when his father earns loads.

I had hoped for a more constructive response when asking for advice but it appears that you don't let small matters such as reading the details of what someone actually wrote get in the way of having a pop at them.

How can you say you don't spend £35 a week on your child, you clearly do as you receive far greater than that in benefits because you have that child.