Universal Credit and SEISS

calcotti

woebetide said:

So I have received my grant (a day early) and am left wondering this:
Do I need to declare it in my monthly income or will HMRC inform UC as they do with PAYE?
When I asked on my journal I was told it does no count as income and not to declare it, but this seems weird to me.
Asking the question again but was wondering if somone knew.

That advice was wrong (and worrying that the advice was given to you). It will be treated as earnings and you need to report. In another thread it was reported that DWP have added a specific item in the monthly reporting for SEISS.

db853

I reported my income and expenses yesterday and they do have a very prominent box so you can report your SEISS. So they're not leaving any ambiguity as to whether to report it as an income.
Here's a question though. If SEISS will significantly affect my UC payment for the following month, would it be possible for me to close my UC claim and then restart it the next day?
By doing a restart claim the day after my SEISS is received I could avoid losing out up to a month's worth of UC.
However, I am concerned though that there is a period of time required between closing a claim and restarting it. I know that if UC closes the claim (for example, following a nil payment) then I can reclaim straight away, but I don't know if there are any restrictions to stop me from closing a claim and restarting?
I wouldn't be surprised if I would have to wait a few months. If this is the case then it would be disastrous.
I am self employed and the SEISS is very welcome, but to potentially lose much of it through it's affect on UC is quite worrying..

poppy12345

db853 said:

I reported my income and expenses yesterday and they do have a box so you can report your SEISS. Here's a question though. If SEISS will significantly affect my UC payment for the following month, would it be possible for me to close my UC claim and then restart it the next day?
By doing a restart claim the day after my SEISS is received I could avoid losing out up to a month's worth of UC. I am concerned though that there is a period of time required between closing a claim and restarting it. I know that if i wait a month until UC closes the claim for me then I can reclaim straight away, but I don't know if there are any penalties to stop me from closing a claim and restarting?
I am self employed and the SEISS is very welcome, but to potentially lose much of it through it's affect on UC is less welcome.

UC doesn't work like that. If you stop your claim and start another one within 6 months you still have the same assessment periods as you have now. This is done to stop this exact thing from happening. Just imagine if this was allowed then everyone would stop their claim before they receive their earnings and start another claim the following day... i don't think so.

db853

I thought it sounded too easy. So if my assessment period starts on the 21st May and my SEISS arrives on the 21st, I close my UC on the 22nd and restart it on the 23rd, then my assessment on the 20th June would be from the period 21st May-20th June?

poppy12345

db853 said:

I thought it sounded too easy. So if my assessment period starts on the 21st May and my SEISS arrives on the 21st, I close my UC on the 22nd and restart it on the 23rd, then my assessment on the 20th June would be from the period 21st May-20th June?

That's correct. You can't just end a claim because you received earnings and expect to claim a few days later and still receive all of your maximum UC amount.

woebetide

poppy12345 said:

SEISS is classed as income for UC in the month it's received. You need to report it on your journal minus your expenses. Both need to be reported on your journal.

poppy12345 said:

SEISS is classed as income for UC in the month it's received. You need to report it on your journal minus your expenses. Both need to be reported on your journal.

I realise this, I was just wondering whether it was a manual entry from me or an automated submission from HMRC to UC in as similar system to PAYE.

_tonybroke_

hello everyone,
thought i would post here to save starting yet another thread
i have been claiming universal credit since March 23rd
I applied for SEISS and was accepted today and im awaiting payment
my universal credit due to be paid in on 29th of May 
if payment arrives before 29th do i declare it on my UC account?
if yes to the above,when can i start to reclaim UC as im still not working?
i will declare SEISS payment on the day it hits my bank account just confused as to when i can re-apply because it affects council tax etc
thanks in advance for anyone that can help
im off to my UC journal now

_tonybroke_

oops 1 more question
what happens if i receive SEISS payment after the 29th,do I have to send my UC  back?
thanks again

poppy12345

_tonybroke_ said:

hello everyone,
thought i would post here to save starting yet another thread
i have been claiming universal credit since March 23rd
I applied for SEISS and was accepted today and im awaiting payment
my universal credit due to be paid in on 29th of May 
if payment arrives before 29th do i declare it on my UC account?
if yes to the above,when can i start to reclaim UC as im still not working?
i will declare SEISS payment on the day it hits my bank account just confused as to when i can re-apply because it affects council tax etc
thanks in advance for anyone that can help
im off to my UC journal now

You need to report your earnings and expenses on your journal the day the grant goes into your bank. Under normal circumstances if your UC is reduced to zero your claim will close. These are not normal circumstances and i beleive your claim will not close. If it does then you can do a rapid reclaim on your journal and you'll keep the same assessment period dates.

poppy12345

woebetide said:

poppy12345 said:

SEISS is classed as income for UC in the month it's received. You need to report it on your journal minus your expenses. Both need to be reported on your journal.

poppy12345 said:

SEISS is classed as income for UC in the month it's received. You need to report it on your journal minus your expenses. Both need to be reported on your journal.

I realise this, I was just wondering whether it was a manual entry from me or an automated submission from HMRC to UC in as similar system to PAYE.

No it's not automated by HMRC like PAYE is. As has been advised you need to report your earnings and expenses yourself on your journal.