Would I have to declare this?

scrimperjan

I am a single parent and as I am on a low income I receive housing benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit. However, my outgoings are low (thanks largely to advice I have been getting on this forum ) and I have savings approaching the point where they would affect my benefits. I've been wondering about an 'alternative' form of investment such as wine rather than pensions / stocks and shares which I don't understand and which seem a bit dodgy at the moment. Obviously I would be very careful and take advice before I decide to go ahead, but what I am wondering is would I need to declare this kind of investment to the 'authorities' as a form of savings. Are there any benefits experts out there who could advise me?

khk1975

To be on the safe side and prevent overpayments I would advise you to declare any change.

I assume that the capital you will be investing has already been declared?. If you are moving money from a Bank account to invest in shares then the Local Authority will assess the capital based on the current value (they will probably only update again when your claim is reviewed) and deduct 10% (I believe this is the current figure) to cover any charges you may incur if you were to sell.

I hope this helps

dmg24

You would need to declare this income, as spending/ investing it may be seen as intentional deprivation of capital.

scrimperjan

khk1975 wrote: »

I assume that the capital you will be investing has already been declared?.

Yes, I have declared everything, I like to keep it all above board - couldn't sleep otherwise! Thanks to you both for the advice.

Callisto

For tax credits purposes, you only need to declare the interest on savings over £300 (the first £300 is disregarded), not the capital amount. There is nothing to declare on savings in an ISA as interest not taxable!

sexki11en

I think I might be missing the point here If you have enough money in savings to be able to afford to pay HB or CT then why should the government continue to pay this for you?

Benefits are for people who can't afford to pay these surely?

dmg24

sexki11en wrote: »

I think I might be missing the point here If you have enough money in savings to be able to afford to pay HB or CT then why should the government continue to pay this for you?

Benefits are for people who can't afford to pay these surely?

The OP is declaring her increased savings, she is not trying to claim anything that she is not entitled to.