The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Posts Tagged ‘child tax credits’

Question: I’m 34 year old and start a 3 year honours degree course on Monday?

I have a 17 year old daughter who too has remained at school to further her education..I’m currently in reciept of child tax credits and child benefit for her..This past year i’ve been unable to work due to having 2 disabled ill parents so all I have been in reciept of is jobseekers allowance…I put in an application for student finances yesterday to assist with paying for my course fees…I live in private rented accomodation with my daughter but i’m unsure if I will get any financial assistance with paying my rent and council tax or will I have to pay them in full as I also have to drive 50 miles to and 50 miles from my college 3 times a week….If anyone has been in a similar situation or has any knowledge of what help is available for mature students could you please give me some useful info as i’m starting to think i’m getting out of my depth financially…Thank you

Answer: First stop should be the student money advice office at your uni as they will be able to tell you everything you need to know.

Are you a single parent? As a single parent student you cannot claim income support as they consider the maintenance loan an alternative source of income available to you wether you claim it or not. This loan is currently around £4, 500 pa. You are eligible for a parent learning allowance of about £1,500 pa. In Wales you can get a Welsh Assembly Grant that is worth up to almost £3,000 pa. You should be able to get tuition fee loans too. Most single parent FT students are eligible for housing benefit but it may not cover the rent fully. Some areas refuse this benefit but your uni finance office can fight for it for you and they will win. They know their stuff! You can continue to claim child tax credit and they told me my wages went down as nothing and student loans etc not counted tho you must inform them. You should get max amount. I’m told it’s possible to get some help from income support but you have to declare loans and I don’t know of any real person who has received such assistance. I haven’t been eligible for all of the loans etc and have managed to get by due to the help of the Uni Hardship Fund who have been fantastic. I’m only in my second year. It’s not easy but it is possible. Hardship funds can’t guarantee you money but you will be high priority as you have dependants. Some uni’s offer grants too (often around £1,000 pa) and there are sometimes bursaries that can be applied for. It all helps.

You CAN get income support for most (not all) of the summer break. You can still get child benefit. All students are exempt from paying council tax. They take into account any maintenance loan you are eligible to receive wether you apply for it or not so apply for full loans. Income support is only payable to people who have no other means of support and whilst it seems unfair to classify a loan as ‘other means of support’ that is how the law sees it. I tried fighting this to no avail.

It is possible to negotiate a slightly higher free student overdraft if you’ve been with the same bank a long time and have a good record but be very wary of their ‘student loans’ they might try and talk you into as they cost a lot in the end. My bank also upped my credit card limit to six times the amount it was when I was working!! Try to avoid using this credit and get as much assistance from your uni as you can.

I also travel 50+ miles each way 3-5 times a week and Uni Hardship Fund have helped tremendously with petrol and car maintenance costs. They are fantastic so talk to them at your uni as soon as possible.

Talk to the student money advice team about the possibility of getting some kind of disability / attendance allowance if you or your daughter are spending time looking after your parents.

US Tax Refunds Rise,

The Obama administration has announced that average income tax refunds from 2009 tax returns are up nearly 10% to just over USD3,000 because of the various tax benefits provided in last year’s Recovery Act.

Question: Question about childcare element of child tax credits in the UK?

Lone parent on a salary of £14000

Registered childcare of £150 per week paid to childminder

What percentage of my childcare costs would be paid by the childcare element of the child tax credits in the UK?

I have heard it would be 80% but I would like some informed opinions.

What would this percentage be if my childcare costs were reduced to £100 per week.

Any assistance appreciated!

Answer: Ring up the tax credits and ask them as everyones entitlement is different.

Use all your tax credits or you’re going to lose them

Credit is pretty tough to come by these days — unless it’s tax credits. There are more tax credits available this year than ever before; more than 25 of them.

Question: How do I find out how much i earned in tax year 2008-2009?

I’m trying to apply for child tax credits for the first time. Both me and my partner have worked in different jobs in this time and have also claimed benefits. We don’t know the dates in which we worked in certain jobs and don’t know what to do? please help!

Answer: I guess that the last check you got should have how much money you have made throughout the year, you know..
You can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 they should be able to help.
For the future you can try http://www.filelate.com this is an online tax Service i’ve used and they are helpful at answering my question, Good Luck

New tax credit helps students

Most of the time, when you get a tax refund, you’re getting back money that you overpaid to the U.S. Treasury . Typically, more was withheld from your paycheck than you owed in taxes. You get your overpayment back as a refund when you file your tax return.