Does parent's tax free lump sum count as household income for their child's student maintenance?

Straightbat

Thanks again Zagfles. I am glad that I am not going completely mad, since it is clear that there is ambiguity in the ways I have described that you have come across too.

I think that your advice is correct, but it concerns me that it is not clear when filling in the forms, and I'm even more amazed that "taxable income" can be so ambiguous when it is such an important term in these calculations and others.

I have found in several areas that these days there seems to be much more reliance on people sharing the same assumptions without having to spell them out. This I think is very poor practice and opens the system up to being misused unknowingly by people with the best of intentions. When you get an insurance document all the terms are defined at the beginning - the same should happen in these instances.

Anyway I'm pressing student-finance for ever more precise answers, in the hope that I can pin them down to actually saying what we both now seem to think should be the case. But it can take them up to two days to reply each time! I thought I had made my last questions clear enough, but I've had to go back to them yet again, and I just hope that this time what I've asked is so black and white, that it will be the final round!

Straightbat

I looked at the legislation Zagfles - no wonder the advice is always so unclear!

Many thanks for your help due to which I think it's only right that I give you what is probably the final word from Student Finance as follows having heard back from them today:

Hi Straightbat,

"1. You should not deduct charitable donations from the income you declare to us. Regardless of whether these are gift aided, we don't take these into account as deductions.

2. If your savings interest was gained through a savings account specifically. You should declare the gross figure and not calculate this based on your tax free savings allowance."

ffitz

OldBeanz wrote: »

You do not have to base the loan on last year's figure either. You can tell them the amount you believe you will earn in the present year and they will base the loan on that. At the end of the FY they will write to you and ask for the figures and adjust accordingly.

My child starts Uni this year. I am retiring half way through the tax year and will get an automatic non taxable lump sum with my pension (PCLS), so I downloaded the CYI (Current Year Assessment Form) as my taxable income will now be significantly lower than that indicated by my P60 2017/18. The form clearly states under Section 4:- "Only tell us the amount of the pension(s) you expect to receive from the first month you receive it until the end of the tax year, including any lump sums".
This appears to contradict instruction given elsewhere from SFE/ HMRC and from several posts on this thread. Any suggestions?? Unfortunately I cannot link to the said form download as a new user, but it is easy fo find on SFE.

Dazed_and_confused

From an income tax perspective you can have a taxable lump sum as well as s non taxable one (TFLS).

fred246

I have just done the same paperwork. I really feel that they hope you will put your tax free lump sum down and then they will use that figure so you 'borrow' less. Everything I have read suggests that you don't need to declare it

atush

AFAIK,

your tax free lump sum doesnt count as income. Any pension you draw on top of that, does.

bizzie

We have also had discussions with SFE / read up on The Student Room forum and have had to include the PCLS as it comes from a taxable source even though it is tax free.

The guidance documentation is far from clear.