Carers allowance and work. Help please.

sparkiemalarkie

Hi I have been offered a days supply work, but I claim carers allowance for my mum.
My sister will cover my absence for the day.


I will earn £140 for the days work and will pay about £10.50 towards a pension scheme. I will be taxed on the money I earn that day.


Will I loose my carers allowance for the week?
Do I need to inform anyone of my work?


thanks


sparkie

pmlindyloo

You could pay your sister for looking after the 'cared for' person for that day thus taking your earnings below the allowed amount.

I am not totally sure whether this one day (are you expecting more work?) would be averaged out.

Why not give these people a call and ask for their advice? (Contact info right at the bottom of the link)

Alice_Holt

From http://www.carersuk.org/files/helpandadvice/71/factsheet-uk1025--carers-allowance.pdf

"If, because of your work, you have to pay for someone to look
after the person you care for, or a child under 16 who you or your
partner get Child Benefit for, you can deduct those payments from
your earnings up to the value of half your earnings (after the above
deductions if they apply). However, this will not apply if the person
you are paying is a close relative of either yourself or the person you
are looking after (a close relative is a spouse, partner or civil partner,
parent, son, daughter, brother or sister)."


More info:

"If you are in paid work (including self-employment) you cannot
get Carer’s Allowance if you earn more than £110 a week (after
deductions).

If you are in employment and are paid monthly, your monthly
earnings are normally multiplied by 12 months to get a yearly figure
and then divided by 52 weeks to get a weekly figure.
If you are in employment and have fluctuating earnings it is possible
for your earnings to be averaged out over a recognisable cycle of work
or over five weeks.

If you are in self-employment your average weekly earnings are
normally calculated by looking at a specific trading period, which is
normally a year. However if you have only recently started your selfemployment,
or if there has been a change in your circumstances,
then a different period more representative of your average weekly
earnings can sometimes be used.

The following amounts are deducted from your gross weekly earnings
(if you are in employment) or your net profit (if you are in selfemployment)
before your earnings are taken into account for Carer’s Allowance.
> Income Tax
> National Insurance
> half of your contributions towards an occupational/personal
pension
You can also deduct expenses that are incurred ‘wholly and exclusively
for the purposes of the business’, in the same way that you can for
income tax purposes.

If, because of your work, you have to pay for someone to look
after the person you care for, or a child under 16 who you or your
partner get Child Benefit for, you can deduct those payments from
your earnings up to the value of half your earnings (after the above
deductions if they apply). However, this will not apply if the person
you are paying is a close relative of either yourself or the person you
are looking after (a close relative is a spouse, partner or civil partner,
parent, son, daughter, brother or sister).

Occupational or personal pensions do not count as earnings and you
can be paid Carer’s Allowance in addition to these. However, if you get
extra Carer’s Allowance for your partner their occupational/personal
pension could affect this extra amount – see note below.


Example
If you earn £120 a week (after tax and national insurance) you
will not be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. However, if you put £20
a week into a pension, half of the £20 can be deducted from your
earnings. Your earnings for Carer’s Allowance would therefore be
£120 - £10 = £110 a week. As this is not over the earnings limit,
you could claim Carer’s Allowance,.
You can also deduct expenses that are incurred ‘wholly and exclusively
for the purposes of the business’, in the same way that you can for
income tax purposes."

So, I think you need to notify the DWP and will lose the CA for that week if your net earnings are more than £110..

sparkiemalarkie

Thanks for the replies

I will earn £140
I will pay £10.50 in pensions
I will pay 20% tax on £129.50 = £25.90

so
140 - 25.90 = £114.10 - 5.25 (1/2 pension contribution) = £108.85
This just seems to squeeze in.

However, as a supply Teacher I am paid monthly so this clause seems interesting:-

If you are in employment and are paid monthly, your monthly
earnings are normally multiplied by 12 months to get a yearly figure
and then divided by 52 weeks to get a weekly figure.
If you are in employment and have fluctuating earnings it is possible
for your earnings to be averaged out over a recognisable cycle of work
or over five weeks.

But am I in employment as a supply teacher?


Hmmm, I think I need to make a phone call.


Other than that can I accept a lower wage? Maybe £130?


sparkie

marliepanda

Why would you be taxed so highly? You can split your allowance so you shouldn't have to pay 20%

sparkiemalarkie

marliepanda wrote: »

Why would you be taxed so highly? You can split your allowance so you shouldn't have to pay 20%

I have a teachers pension + carers allowance and together it tips me over the PA


sparkie

Alice_Holt

Remember that you can only deduct half of your contributions towards an occupational/personal
pension. So I think your calculation may be wrong.

Have you an additional personal pension or SIPP you could contribute to?
Can you negotiate a reduced salary?

Diary

Alice_Holt wrote: »

Remember that you can only deduct half of your contributions towards an occupational/personal
pension. So I think your calculation may be wrong.

Have you an additional personal pension or SIPP you could contribute to?
Can you negotiate a reduced salary?

Negotiating a reduced salary to claim benefits is a definite no no and will get the OP in a whole world of trouble.

sparkiemalarkie

I will earn £140
I will pay £10.50 in pensions
I will pay 20% tax on £129.50 = £25.90

so
140 - 25.90 = £114.10 - 5.25 (1/2 pension contribution) = £108.85


Thanks, did calculate it as 1/2 the pension contributions, but no other pension to contribute to. (calculations still could be wrong though)


I had better not ask for less pay, but think I will phone up on Monday to see what they have to say.


sparkie

Alice_Holt

Oops.

Sorry. Silly post on my behalf.

sparkiemalarkie

Alice_Holt wrote: »

Oops.

Sorry. Silly post on my behalf.

Not at all.


I may well have thought that I had halved the pension contributions but might have forgotten. It made me check and that's always a good thing.


sparkie