Working is Pointless

crispyjay1987

So, I started a new job 3 months ago. it's going pretty well. So well in fact that I was given a £500 bonus on top of my wages for my hard work. Which in a vacuum sounds great and I'm super grateful for the gesture.

Then I checked my bank statement....

£100 less than usual.

On top of this, I received a text from our landlord that our UC was reduced by £360 and we now need to pay the difference.

So my reward for actually trying, is being over £450 worse off because of tax, the ridiculous way UC is calculated and student loan poking it's head back in. Meanwhile, people living in my area are on their 5th take out of the day sitting doing nothing.

I'm trying not to swear but what is the effing point

Thanks #britishgovernment DWP Digital and studentloans.com and whoever else decides to pop their hand in my wallet. Thanks for making it all not worth it

JJG

The numbers don’t add up. Being paid an extra £500 would never cause you to be taxed 190% on that amount.

crispyjay1987

And yet here we are...

Wish I was making it up. I was so chuffed and then it happened. Couldn't believe it when I saw it.

I'm putting it down to essentially each company respectively think I'm earning £6000 more a year than I actually am. 

I'll request for no bonus in future. Literally pointless.

crispyjay1987

I think I see what you mean. Ive always calculated my UC in my monthly earnings to make budgeting easier.

But not only was UC taken away, I get stung by student loan AND tax out the !!!!!!. 

itsthelittlethings

They think the bonus is your year round wages and it has messed something up?

Can you type your payslip out without any identification such as workplace, NI number, name and we will be able to advise. All other details ideally.

born_again

crispyjay1987 said:

I think I see what you mean. Ive always calculated my UC in my monthly earnings to make budgeting easier.

But not only was UC taken away, I get stung by student loan AND tax out the !!!!!!. 

UC is calculated on income. In your AP.
Same as your Student  loan is calculated on income for that period
Same as income tax & National ins is calculated on income for that period.

Always been this way. Get more pay more.

itsthelittlethings

born_again said:

crispyjay1987 said:

I think I see what you mean. Ive always calculated my UC in my monthly earnings to make budgeting easier.

But not only was UC taken away, I get stung by student loan AND tax out the !!!!!!. 

UC is calculated on income. In your AP.
Same as your Student  loan is calculated on income for that period
Same as income tax & National ins is calculated on income for that period.

Always been this way. Get more pay more.

I’m sorry, UC only reduces by 55p in the pound, and the max rate of tax this person would have been on is 40%. Being £460 down doesn’t sound right.

Is UC calculated before or after tax?

Grumpy_chap

It might help if the OP can advise what they were doing prior to starting the new job and also what their normal wage packet is.

It may be, if they were not working from April, May, June, and then started work in July, August, September, the £500 bonus has the effect of being seen by PAYE calculations as the normal monthly income and that is projected forwards on the same basis for the remainder of the tax year (until end March), so the forecast is tripping over a tax threshold and PAYE will see that reverse back in time, but the short term effect is a disproportionately high income tax.

That could only be half of it though.  Has the OP been paying the correct tax in the first two months?  Is this month also catching up underpaid tax from previously?

born_again

itsthelittlethings said:

born_again said:

crispyjay1987 said:

I think I see what you mean. Ive always calculated my UC in my monthly earnings to make budgeting easier.

But not only was UC taken away, I get stung by student loan AND tax out the !!!!!!. 

UC is calculated on income. In your AP.
Same as your Student  loan is calculated on income for that period
Same as income tax & National ins is calculated on income for that period.

Always been this way. Get more pay more.

I’m sorry, UC only reduces by 55p in the pound, and the max rate of tax this person would have been on is 40%. Being £460 down doesn’t sound right.

Is UC calculated before or after tax?

Yes.
With no info on what the amounts are, other than bonus. It is possible that income has lead to a £0 UC payout.

I took it more of a rant by OP

Marcon

crispyjay1987 said:

And yet here we are...

Wish I was making it up. I was so chuffed and then it happened. Couldn't believe it when I saw it.

I'm putting it down to essentially each company respectively think I'm earning £6000 more a year than I actually am. 

I'll request for no bonus in future. Literally pointless.

'Each company' - how many different employers do you have? Only one (the one who paid you the bonus) would have included it in your pay for the month, with our wonderful PAYE system doing the damage for this month in respect of that employment. It's possible that next month's pay packet from this employer will show a tax refund, but in the absence of the relevant facts, it's not possible to do more than float that possibility.