Help with tax credits please

sambo31

I am a single mother currently on IS but have been offered a part time job at tesco working 22 and a half hours a week i think the wage is £5.42 an hour thing is i've been using the entitledto.com calculator and its saying i will be over £150 a week better off which doesn't seem at all right can anybody give me a good idea of what i would be earning etc.

Wage £5.42 an hr
Rent £59.07 per week
Council Tax £691.39

Another thing that i find very confusing is that tax credits pay you on what you earned last year so when i start work in 7 weeks i will have to give them my benefits ammount so i wont be earning on wage till next year is that right.

CIS

tax credits uses this years income in certain cases - if its lower than last years or more than £25K higher than last years.

You need to inform them as soon as you start work as it may change the amount of tax credits payable.

astonsmummy

sambo, phone up the jobcentre and ask to speak to a lone parent advisor ASAP, they are really good and can give you an estimate of how much better off you'll be working, plus you can get back to work grants, housing and council tax benefit run ons, i dont think you'll be £150 a week off but i'm about £50 week better off.
Good luck x

Gaz83

Tax Credits only use last year's income to "initialise" a claim. If you expect this year's income to be different, you can phone them up and have the award re-assessed based on current year income if different (you are given a banding that your income can be different by without it affecting your award).

daff_duck

This is what happened to me, I would have been better off thefirst year because IS is not taken into account. Next year however wages come into the calculation so I would lose about £30.00 tax credits. Also take into account you will probably have to pay most or all your rent and council tax and lose any free school meals, plus would you have any travel costs? After taking everything into consideration even though looking at basic figurers I should have been £100.00 better off when deducting everything I had to now pay we ended up only £20.00 better off. I can't get social fund loans either and these were a big help for xmas.

sambo31

Thankyou all for the advice i will make an appointment with my lone parent adviser that way if there is a mistake i can blame them lol.

Really confusing isn't it especially when this will be my first proper job and i really do want this job so that i can come off benefits i'm just a bit worried that i'll be worse off money wise or even worse still be given an overpayment as my friend has just been to court and now has to pay back £8,000.

Surely i can't be made to pay full rent not being on the low income i'll be getting entitledto.com worked out that i would only be paying a small ammount towards it i think rent( housing benefit) was £13 a week for me to pay.

Lyndsay_21

You should definatly get some rent and council tax help as your on a low income plus dont forget you'll keep you child tax credit and child benefit as well as getting working families

Gaz83

sambo31 wrote: »

Thankyou all for the advice i will make an appointment with my lone parent adviser that way if there is a mistake i can blame them lol.

Really confusing isn't it especially when this will be my first proper job and i really do want this job so that i can come off benefits i'm just a bit worried that i'll be worse off money wise or even worse still be given an overpayment as my friend has just been to court and now has to pay back £8,000.

Surely i can't be made to pay full rent not being on the low income i'll be getting entitledto.com worked out that i would only be paying a small ammount towards it i think rent( housing benefit) was £13 a week for me to pay.

Obviously I don't know all the details but if your friend had to go to court and is now being ordered to pay back £8k that sounds like a fraud case or something like that.

I wouldn't worry about your own experience based on that. Just give them a bell and take it from there

astonsmummy

On such a low income you wont every be overpaid by that amount, dont worry, it's daunting but the lone parent advisor wil give you some good advice.

sambo31

Thanks guys i'll let you know how i get on at job centre. :T

petercarots

Just be careful what the lone parent advisor says about tax credits, cos some of them have no idea about tax credits - its not their fault cos tax credits is so complex but always check what they say with the helpline</p>You will definitley be better off taking the job, it won't harm your tax credits in the first year, and even when they go down a bit next year, you'll still have a higher overall income
You will still get your free school meals and NHS exemption on this income as well, your annual income would have to be above 15000 for these to stop