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Advice please - esa for couple - will it increase tax?

Hi, my husband has had ESA (contributions based) at support level plus enhancement for transfer from Incap Benefit for a long time. I have recently applied to receive it as well (think I've been eligible for a long time but never thought of it).
ESA cannot tell me if it will increase the amount of tax he pays on his works pension (if he is the main claimant and I am added on to it) and told me to ring HMRC.
Got two complete idiots at HMRC who didn't know what they were talking about. Mine would be income related. I already receive PIP at enhanced personal care level.
Questions
1) If he is main claimant he keeps the 52 enhancement for transfer from Incap and then my ESA is added on. Will it look like his income and will he get taxed?
2) If I become main claimant he loses the 52 but also stops paying tax (net benefit about 1600 less than before). If he is main claimant do I get less than if I am main claimant?
3) What are we best off doing tax and income wise?
Tried the CAB (20+ times) but always engaged and the idiots at HMRC were zero help and didn't even speak good enough english to understand my questions. I told them I had no trust in them and would try the cAB but alas, constantly engaged or off the hook.
Need your advice.

Comments

  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 17,478 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper PPI Party Pooper
    Assuming you have a sick note from your GP you can make an Income Related claim to ESA in your own right, with your husband as partner on that claim. Your husband's Conts only ESA claim will be unaffected by your claim, BUT his ESA and pension will be taken into account against your Income Related claim.
    By doing it that way there is no effect on your husband's tax liability.
    If you are added to his claim, it won't 'look' like his income, it will be his income. I'm not sure how tax would be affected as anything paid for you is Income Related benefit and IR benefit isn't taxable (at least I don't think it is).
    It seems unlikely that closing his ESA Conts claim and having him as partner on your claim would be financial beneficial as virtually all of his pension would be taken into account against your claim. There is a small disregard which used to be £20, but all the rest would be taken off your claim.
    Also, it's not only the enhancement which would be lost, the premium for being in the Support Group would also go because he would no longer be the claimant.
    There are so many variables I do think you need to keep trying to get through to CAB for more formal advice with all the numbers in front of you.
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