Surely everyone is winning big like this lady?

keletubbie

£10k of prizes in a year is do-able - I managed it twice and while working as well. Good luck to her, but she's only got herself to blame for selling her story to these gutter rags.

claire21

List of prizes

"Use of a Skoda Octavia for a week" old joke did the runner up get 2 weeks ?

sydroo

mjm3346 wrote: »

If you win cash it should be taken into account for any means tested benefit where capital is considered but generally there is no tax to pay just for receiving the prize.
(main exception is where a prize is paid over several years like some of the lotto scratchcards, the first years payment is tax free after that it is taxable income).

Wasn't there a case of a woman who was on Deal or No Deal and claiming benefits who won a load of cash but didn't declare it. Someone from the DWP (or from somewhere similar) saw her on the programme, she was investigated and her benefits stopped?

Edit:
Here's the article
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2487151/How-mother-won-95-000-Deal-Or-No-Deal-carried-claiming-benefits-finally-brought-justice.html

gholmes724

You can have a certain amount of capital, quite a few thousand, and still claim social security payments -I can't remember the amounts, more is allowed for housing benefit than JSA but clearly what she won took her well over those amounts. Single person discount on council tax has nothing to do with your capital. TBH the most disturbing thing about that article is the photo of the two council employees who were obviously set up by the photographer 'lift your head a bit higher, no higher..' whilst I crouch down and look up at you. I bet that photo did the rounds and still does at Stoke on Trent council.

euronorris

£16k is the limit for capital/savings before income based benefits will cease. But, providing you've been working and paying NI for a minimum of two years before needing benefits, you're entitled to contributions based benefits for a year. With contributions based benefits, they do not take into account your capital or savings.

mjm3346

euronorris wrote: »

£16k is the limit for capital/savings before income based benefits will cease.

That's where they stop but they reduce on a sliding scale up to then, I think it's from somewhere around £6k to £8k.