does anyone get carers allowance

[nelly]

hi ya , i care for my disabled son as well as child mind part time, was just thinking that because carers allowance is a taxable benefit tax credit take this amount as a wage so in theory im not getting any extra for caring for my son am i right ?:huh: , so if i get rid of my carers allowance would my tax credit go up or would i be loosing out ? also its a pain because have to make sure that i dont go over £100 a week so this means that i cant always help my parents because this would take me over this amount.have tried and tried phoning citizens advice but no one ever answers and the carers people dont understand what im going on about . hope someone can help xx

[sue m]

Hiya, didn't want to read and run. Sorry, I've got no idea, have you rung the people who pay the carers allowance? My brain is still in bed, can't think this morning. :blush:

I used to get carers allowance when I cared for my husband but that was over 5 years ago so no doubt it's all changed now. xx

[alwaysright]

hi dont forget its £100 after all your expenses not before, i am currently looking into this as i've just this week been awarded middle rate dla for my daughter, your tax credits should be higher anyway as you are caring for a disabled child (something i only found out last week) so have you told tax credits this?? also i think the only people who could give the correct figures is the tax credit office, i would ring and ask them what would happen and say maybe you are finding it stressful working and caring for your child. i think its wrong that this should be a taxable benefit...why should it be!!

[nelly]

hi dont forget its £100 after all your expenses not before, i am currently looking into this as i've just this week been awarded middle rate dla for my daughter, your tax credits should be higher anyway as you are caring for a disabled child (something i only found out last week) so have you told tax credits this?? also i think the only people who could give the correct figures is the tax credit office, i would ring and ask them what would happen and say maybe you are finding it stressful working and caring for your child. i think its wrong that this should be a taxable benefit...why should it be!!

yes i know we get extra tax credit, but they take off our carers allowance as this is taxable so really theres no point in claiming it is there ?

[appleblossom]

I get Widowed Parent's Allowance, which is also a taxable benefit. I get less tax Credits because I receive this as it is added to my net income. I also pay income tax on it as HMRC also add it to my net income. It does seem unfair. however I I am pretty sure i wouldn't get enough extra tax credits to compensate for dropping the WPA. Similarly, I don't think you would think you would get an extra £100 in TC if you gave up the Carer's Allowance, if that makes sense.

[blue bear]

Carers allowance for children is non taxable and you dont have to put it on your tax return until your child is no longer in full time education. It is on the gov. Web site somewhere but I checked with hmrc to make double sure a couple of years ago

[angel9199]

I have just started to recieve careers allowance and they told me they only take one thirds of your income, so you can earn up to three hundred pounds a week and still get it. Hope this helps x

[rachelmama]

Can you well thats great to know coz i been worrying about that as i claim careers for my son :)

[Bananabrain]

Two thirds disregard' [which DWP are loathe to tell you about] means that for benefit purposes you only have to declare a third of your earnings if you are a childminder. ie. if you earn £300 you only have to declare £100.
As far as I am aware that applies to all benefits.
Hope that helps.

[sarah707]

Carers allowance for children is non taxable and you dont have to put it on your tax return until your child is no longer in full time education. It is on the gov. Web site somewhere but I checked with hmrc to make double sure a couple of years ago

I claimed carers some years ago and as far as I am aware this is wrong.

Carers is a taxable benefit.

For your tax return you add up your total income from childminding, deduct all your expenses and then put your carers allowance onto the form (and any income from savings etc) and that's your figure for tax. So if you go over the tax threshold with carers allowance added to your income after expenses then you have to pay tax.

For tax credits however you send them your total income (before expenses) and they disregard 2/3. They have a special short form for childminders and other self employed people that you sometimes have to ask for. If they send you a long form asking for your expenses broken down ring them back and ask again.

The main problem I found with carers was their insistence that your books are done by the middle / end of April. They write to you at the beginning of April then hassle you until you reply, threatening to stop your money. So you need to be on top of getting your books done pronto early April.

This information is correct as 2 years ago. It may have changed, so ring and check with them if you are not sure.

Hth :D

[blue bear]

I claimed carers some years ago and as far as I am aware this is wrong.

Carers is a taxable benefit.

I put mine on my tax return, the tax office contacted me and told me if it is for a child you do not have to pay tax on it, they sent me a leaflet and a link to their website which I checked and also rang and spoke to someone at hmrc as I thought they might have made a mistake but was reassured they had not

[sarah707]

I put mine on my tax return, the tax office contacted me and told me if it is for a child you do not have to pay tax on it, they sent me a leaflet and a link to their website which I checked and also rang and spoke to someone at hmrc as I thought they might have made a mistake but was reassured they had not

I wish wish I'd been told that. It caused me huge problems with my tax over the years :(