Entitled to WTC?

ssfsadfsfsadf

Hello all,

I'm just wondering if someone can help.

I am very much unfit to work as I live with mental health problems. I do have the option to go on ESA but I am well aware that the processes involved (forms, assessments, maybe even having to appeal a decision) will do me absolutely no good at all and could end up making me so much worse.

Currently I claim full HB, but no other benefits.

I am pretty much an expert when it comes to earning money online, mostly through online surveys and other incentive paying panels. On average I would say I earn up to £50 per week in cash plus around the same in Amazon vouchers. I put in over 30 hours per week doing this.

Would this entitle me to WTC? For a top up of my earnings to make it a slightly more comfortable to live on amount?

Thanks

HappyMJ

Sparkz15 wrote: »

Hello all,

I'm just wondering if someone can help.

I am very much unfit to work as I live with mental health problems. I do have the option to go on ESA but I am well aware that the processes involved (forms, assessments, maybe even having to appeal a decision) will do me absolutely no good at all and could end up making me so much worse.

Currently I claim full HB, but no other benefits.

I am pretty much an expert when it comes to earning money online, mostly through online surveys and other incentive paying panels. On average I would say I earn up to £50 per week in cash plus around the same in Amazon vouchers. I put in over 30 hours per week doing this.

Would this entitle me to WTC? For a top up of my earnings to make it a slightly more comfortable to live on amount?

Thanks

Is it a profit making job?

I have done mystery shopping for quite a while but I do not make a profit. The travel costs exceed the fee in just about all cases. HMRC didn't see it as a job and saw it as a hobby and cancelled my working tax credit claim.

You can really only claim working tax credits if there is potential to make a profit. Small businesses do lose money in the first year so it's understandable to not make anything and claim WTC's but there must be some profit element to the job and not just a few pence.

£50 a week over 30 hours doing surveys isn't really that much. You should be aiming to make a profit after expenses at least equal to the National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour. If the job can never make that much then to me it doesn't count as a job. You'll need to ask the HMRC in that case whether you can claim WTC's.

The fees you get from surveys and giving opinions on panels doesn't count as income for income tax so the hours spent don't count as hours for working tax credits.

Remember that your housing benefit claim will be reduced as your income from WTC's increases and if the HMRC ask for the tax credits back you can't go back to council and reclaim the housing benefit that was reduced because of it so maybe not worth claiming.

I'd look at increasing your income by working harder at what you're doing.

Are you registered self employed and filling out a self assessment each year? Are you paying Class 2 National Insurance contributions?

ssfsadfsfsadf

Hello there, thanks so much for the detailed reply.

It is 100% profit making with next to no outgoings (aside from the electric used to power my computer). It can truly vary so much, like 3 times in the last 2 months I did 90 minute online focus groups which paid £25 each (around £16 per hour). Although admittedly, these are not normally frequent.

The earnings last month (taken from recent stats), was £189 paypal cash and £84 Amazon vouchers (almost £70 per week). Of which it was entirely profit, minus about £10 for electric costs.

Definitely tempted to think twice about this.

I'm not registered as self employed and i'm not paying anything as i'm not sure how much of it works. Previously, going back years ago I was working full time, then I was off on the sick for a bit. After I went on carers allowance as I was a carer for someone. They sadly passed away not long back which I haven't been able to take too well. Combined with the already existent mental health problems, it's put me in a bad place.

So since then, I have declared the inheritance with the council, who although have agreed to pay my full housing rental, are no longer able to give me the same council tax discount as I had when I was on carers allowance (It was around £8 a month I had to pay, now its £94).

Looking at all areas of it really. The inheritance certainly won't last me forever. I really wish I was able to get out there again and get a job working somewhere, but as it stands I can't at the moment. So JSA wouldn't be an option. ESA would be but the processes involved are too overwhelming (and they don't really see mental health problems as a disability). Then there doesn't seem much else to do apart from carry on as things are, and hope that sometime in the future, I will be fit enough to work again.

pmlindyloo

I don't know your personal details but am concerned that you may not be paying NI contributions towards your state pension. You may, of course be entitled to them another way (through child benefit for example) but if you aren't then you should consider the consequences.

I am also concerned that you do not want to claim ESA if you have been told that you are entitled to it.

I know there is a lot of adverse comments about the claiming process but if you have medical evidence of your disabilities then you should be claiming.

The first process is very simple - you just need a fit note from your doctor and telephone to make an application. Then you get a welfare adviser to support you through the process.

I know you have said that you think the process would make you feel worse but it needn't be that way. You have the ability to earn some money and you can continue to do this as permitted work if you have to declare it for ESA purposes - just keep the 'work' to under 16 hrs in your declaration. I am not even sure that they would be interested in this extra income. (others may know more)

Since you claim full HB then i am assuming that they were not interested in your online surveys and did not treat it as income?

Do you have care/mobility needs? Have you looked at claiming PIP?

Your post makes me sad since benefits are there to support those unable to work and the fact that you don't claim them when you should because of the potential 'hassle' is even sadder.

HappyMJ

Sparkz15 wrote: »

Hello there, thanks so much for the detailed reply.

It is 100% profit making with next to no outgoings (aside from the electric used to power my computer). It can truly vary so much, like 3 times in the last 2 months I did 90 minute online focus groups which paid £25 each (around £16 per hour). Although admittedly, these are not normally frequent.

The earnings last month (taken from recent stats), was £189 paypal cash and £84 Amazon vouchers (almost £70 per week). Of which it was entirely profit, minus about £10 for electric costs.

Definitely tempted to think twice about this.

I'm not registered as self employed and i'm not paying anything as i'm not sure how much of it works. Previously, going back years ago I was working full time, then I was off on the sick for a bit. After I went on carers allowance as I was a carer for someone. They sadly passed away not long back which I haven't been able to take too well. Combined with the already existent mental health problems, it's put me in a bad place.

So since then, I have declared the inheritance with the council, who although have agreed to pay my full housing rental, are no longer able to give me the same council tax discount as I had when I was on carers allowance (It was around £8 a month I had to pay, now its £94).

Looking at all areas of it really. The inheritance certainly won't last me forever. I really wish I was able to get out there again and get a job working somewhere, but as it stands I can't at the moment. So JSA wouldn't be an option. ESA would be but the processes involved are too overwhelming (and they don't really see mental health problems as a disability). Then there doesn't seem much else to do apart from carry on as things are, and hope that sometime in the future, I will be fit enough to work again.

I don't think that's enough profit to count as 30 or more hours for a tax credit claim.

They can deem the hours as £189 plus £84 then times 12 and divide by 52 being £63 per week then divide by £7.20 which gives an answer of 8.75 hours per week....that's not enough. You may put in 30 hours a week searching for surveys and online panels and doing them but they won't see it like that.

You could register for an ESA credits only claim. There are no hoops to jump through and no requirement to report your income as you don't get any payment. You'll then get your National Insurance credits. As 8.75 hours is less than 16 hours you do qualify for it. Speak to the DWP and notify the NI office that you wish to declare for the last tax year you were too ill to work and would like them to credit you with NI credits for the 2015/16 tax year.

Cyclamen

Can you claim PIP are your needs eligible.. if so you may be entitled to the 16 hour disabled element of WTC.

ESA is a simple process for the assesment phase (i think that's 12 weeks) and is paid at the same rate as JSA.. so would be a good starting point.

Please remember that people are more likely to come online when the benefits system doesnt work to get support and help so you are possibly going to see more 'difficult claim stories' here.. for some of us the system does work and although hard emotionally doing forms/medical it is worth it. ESA allows permitted work, you just have to talk to them a friend was told she can earn £20 p/w without reporting it (not sure how true this is) and then there are permitted work options.

The forms can be intimidating but CAB, local independent living centres and even MIND can help with the forms.

Good luck with things

Darksparkle

Cyclamen wrote: »

Can you claim PIP are your needs eligible.. if so you may be entitled to the 16 hour disabled element of WTC.

A WTC claim is still likely to be questioned if earning less than £500 per month.

Detroit

Are you saying you have inherited money that is of an amount sufficient to stop you being entitled to council tax support?
If so, it may also mean you have too much capital to claim ESA.
Do HB know about the inheritance? It's unusual to get no CTS and full HB.
Also, do you declare the online income to HB?

I don't mean to worry you, but the CTS/HB discrepancy seems a bit odd, and coupled with mention of an inheritance and your undeclared income, makes me concerned you may be being overpaid HB.

xylophone

Are you saying you have inherited money that is of an amount sufficient to stop you being entitled to council tax support?
If so, it may also mean you have too much capital to claim ESA.
Do HB know about the inheritance?

The OP says

So since then, I have declared the inheritance with the council, who although have agreed to pay my full housing rental, are no longer able to give me the same council tax discount as I had when I was on carers allowance (It was around £8 a month I had to pay, now its £94)

.

Detroit

xylophone wrote: »

The OP says
.

Yes, sorry, missed that.

However, it is unusual to get full HB and no CTS. It would be worth checking that awards are based on correct information to avoid overpayment of one or un claimed entitlement of the other. Or at least run it through the benefit calculator to check the figures.

ssfsadfsfsadf

Thank you all, first let me say about HB. I never knew it worked this way until it was all confirmed and happened.

CT discount = 25% off for 1 person occupancy. I was on carers allowance before and had very little in savings. Which entitled me to a bigger discount (I only paid £8 per month). It states that if you have over £6000, you are not entitled to CT discount full stop (apart from 25% single occupancy).

HB = My inheritance was over £6000 but under 16k. Let's say it was 8k. The council counted that as 2k over the 6k limit (£250 for every £1 over). So that is classed as I earn £4 per week. I sent them bank statements showing them this figure.

Next to that on the confirmation forms is "the government states you need x amount to live on". This amount was £75 per week. So £75, less £4 a week is i'm £71 short per week of the amount the government states you need to live on. So therefore get full HB still.

If I was to earn over £71 per week, then the excess would be deducted from my HB. That £189 from surveys isn't over £71 per week, so no change in HB.

So yeah, the only reason I don't get full CT discount is because my inheritance was over £6000.

Although, after paying for the funeral out of it (as it was stated in the will), i'm considerably under £6000, but I just haven't had time to contact the council to get it corrected.

With regards to ESA, the problem with it though is after the GP notes and after I have applied, it will be an assessment (Which I will likely pass as people with mental health problems do a lot of the time), then it's another battle with the appeals process. I dont have any care/mobility needs.

Added to that it can mess up my HB. We know how slow the council are with things, so 1 week I could be in receipt of ESA, it will be stopped when passing the assessment, then it means I will have to contact the council again to tell them and go back on full HB while I get it sorted

I do indeed declare online income to the HB but they are not that interested. I'm corresponding with them on a week by week basis via email to declare what I have earned (as the amount varies).

I'm not too fussed when it comes to paying NI because while I was on carers allowance, it was covered for that time (So from that i'm guessing if I did get ESA, I would be entitled to contribution based)

I also have to look at the bigger picture. I am listed in an elderly family member's will to inherit a property worth about £120,000. Plus a cash sum of somewhere around £60,000. Unless they live to be the oldest person in the world ever, they won't be around when I am at retirement age. So if worst came to the worst, that would cover me in my later life