Hi all! Looking for a bit of advice on tax credits and carers allowance. My son recently got dla and disability tax credit awarded and have now been awarded carers allowance,i contacted tax credits to let them know and they are going to adjust it but how much do they take away in tax credits?is it still worth it? All new to this so any advice would be good,thank you xx
I know this query was made some time ago, but I was really looking for an answer to this and it's a jumble of misinformation on google. So to anyone looking for answers like I am I will leave this comment for you.
I have phoned tax credits to inform them today I have been awarded carers allowance. I was assured this will not effect my child tax credits and a letter of award will be sent with the updated information. When I recieve this information I will give a more accurate account of what happened with my finances after I was awarded carers.
TO ANSWER QUERIES I HAD DURING THE FULL PROCESS I WILL ADD MY PERSONAL EXPERINECE AND PLEASE KNOW I LIVE IN SCOTLAND AND SO THIS MAY DIFFER FROM YOUR OWN DUE TO LOCATION.
My position is I'm a single mum receiving INCOMME SUPPORT SINCE MY FIRST CHILD IN 2012, Im also on PIP for my bipolar disorder, started in 2017, im sure... I also have PTSD and possible schizophrenia that has made it impossible for me to live a routined life and this effects my ability to work because I will just switch off my phone and stop all contact with the outside world at anytime due to certain beliefs that come and go in my mind And also anxiety has me crippled in pain from ice pick headaches to frequent frozen shoulder because of how much I tense. I'm sure I have panic disorder because I'm attacked by anxiety attacks most of every waking day. Especially with my breathing and being around people I don't know heightens this and I feel like I'm not breathing at all.
I was awarded pip standard daily living component and recieve no disability rate. I wanted to get a reconsideration but due to struggling financially I settled cause the money was needed and my dad is also involved as he's my carer, and was able to apply after my award So this would have meant him having to wait also and so I just accepted what I got. But now I have my sons award I am going to update my own claim because I have gotten worse and I can also add in the things I never put on my claim to begin with like the physical aspects of what my mental illness does to me and how that effects my life. So I leave this for anyone going through the same as me. You need to say absolutely everything. Your condition is not how you are awarded. I'm not awarded because of possibilities on my medical records or diagnosis of this condition that condition because conditions vary person to person. You have to detail everything on how it effects your life and be honest. For instance I hoard because of OCD and so cooking, cleaning, organisation becaome so difficult for me I will order takeaway for months on end. I'll refuse to let people in the house. I need social work involvement because it gets to the point if I carry on it will become unsafe for the kids and I've been working with social workers on and off since 2014.
Because my dad is my carer I don't get the severe disability premium which is £70 odd a week, but I did get the lower rate premium of £39 a week added to my income support and I still get this even with carers allowance.
Because I am on PIP and have a carer, this does not effect my ability to be a carer if I'm actively caring for someone for more than 35 hours a week (in some cases you qualify for other carers payments doing over 20 hours a week, so it's good to check what your personal situation entitles you to, for example state pension doesn't qualify you for carers allowance, but you can get other help... my dad reaches state pension age this December and I will be able to update with how this works if anyone maybe interested to know please drop me a reply.) Obviously I do attend to my 11 year old son for over 35hours a week.
Bit about my sons condition and what he was awarded - please feel free to skip ahead if your already claiming disabilty for your child and not interested as I ramble. But for anyone about to go through this. This is my experience.
He has Autistic behaviours, but is not medically diagnosed as such because getting kids seen seems to be the impossible. CAHMS or prefcat before that has not been in touch and he was referred to prefcat for learning difficultiesi n nursery and this is me just getting DLA for him 7 years later because mental health is a bugger and i just wanted him to get better and thought he'd grow out of the issues.... please dont feel like labelling your child is an issue.... which hes 11 now and needs assisting and helping with learning and its a difficult routine which effects me mentally because nothing is straight forward for him so its not ever straight forward for me. He needs help with toilet wiping as due to limited foods he suffers from constipation alot this makes his stools hard and they don't leave a residue like a softer stool would. When he's getting more fibre in his diet he will have a softer poo and he never wipes properly because he hasn't identify a need for it as most of the time he's never had to experience wiping multiple times. Hes very routined unlike me and he has to have routine. I've tried the wet wipes but he doesn't like them. I brush his teeth now because he hates toothpaste doesn't matter which flavour he boaks brushing them. He cries and I just have to persevere knowing its a needed part of life for him because I've given into let him do it and he's now getting a back adult tooth removed at the age of 11 and I feel like the worst parent ever. So I took over brushing them we have a timer and he watches the sand while I brush so he knows when I'll be finished and he can raise his hand when he wants to spit out and I'll stop to allow this. He needs assisting outside because he struggles to mix well with other children and he isn't allowed on the street because of this. He is stuck to the garden when we're at home and this is a shame. Limits his capability to mix well with his peers so he lacks social skills even more. He is a germaphobe I've just bought a dyson formaldehyde cool fan air purifyer it was £399 and that was with £150 off the price in the dyson summer sales. It charts air quality and as I'm not a smoker or anything mine is sitting within the green at all times. I took it over to a neighbour who smokes to see the reading as she was thinking of getting one as she smokes in the house and it was up in the 180' in red. So I know its working and giving an accurate reading too. His food can not be touched by anyone but him once prepared and he will not eat anything rolled off his plate etc. He struggles with balance so he can't carry food on a plate it has to be a bowl even if its just cheese on toast or somthing that's ideal on a plate if he's taking it to his room to eat away from everyone else he'll spill it then sit and cry because he wants it all made fresh and by this point he's hungry now and his need for hunger seems to effect him more. If he's hungry he's tired and emotional. He's not a great eater so when he does eat I think it's because he's past the fist hunger stage and his body is actually telling him to eat so its understandable he gets upset. There's so many sensory issues like sounds and textures I won't go all into it but he's kept inside at school because he's in a mainstream primary but they have applied for him to attend a non mainstream secondary school next year as they said they don't think he will cope mainstream. He spends his break playing d&d in the library with some other kids that also have issues going out on a noisy full playground. They were letting him out at different times for fresh air but I'm not sure this has happened yet since starting back term last week. I've yet to have a meeting with the school to review what supports are given as sometimes these issues can be overlooked and last week I picked him up for a doctors appointment and his face was all marked he said he had a buddy and was out on the playground and someone tripped him up. This is just a turning wheel you never get off because it will never slow down or stop long enough for you to even catch your breath. To anyone out there with a kid with an unseen disability what a struggle it is to be seen or heard for your child and I want to say I see and hear you cause I experience this everyday and on top of my own mental health I just cry. I lay and cry because I am suppose to be able to help my child and I don't know how to make him feel settled. I know a lot of the issues are hereditary and I didn't know about my own mental health conditions until my second child and she is also mentally disabled with learning difficulties, Pica, Skin picking disorder, anxiety and so on, but in the process of a diagnosis again just waiting to hear back from the peaditrician, school psychologist and not even heard of the CAHMS referal has been made yet. I didn't apply for disabilty right away because I had to do my son first as I'd put it off so long. The advice I'll give to you is don't wait. If your child has additional needs get a form done. You don't need a diagnosis because it doesn't go on the medical diagnosis it is worked out by the care that child needs. My son was awarded middle care and low mobility. I accepted this as I've nothing else to go by. His care is in the day and he sleeps at night fine so he doesn't require additional help during the night so I take it this is why he's been awarded middle and he isn't physically unable to walk but doesn't have the ability to manage on his own like his peers so that's why low rate mobility, which I'm haply with and seems correct to me, but again I've nothing to base this off.
I know I've rambled on there, but I do feel info is lacking online for people in my situaltion. I have a telephone appointment tomorrow to help fill in my daughters disability form because I don't understand most of the questions to me its like a repeat of what's been asked and they help clarify and get a clear answer from me. So anyone struggling can phone the council to help or phone the disability payment line direct. In Scotland its child disability and you phone social security Scotland. Outside of Scotland will differ and I don't know about anything outside of my own experience sorry.
Claiming carers allowance has effected my income support only. It has not effected anything else. I don't know if it will up my tax credits. I wouldn't think so, but the man did say an award letter will be sent detailing and I won't be left out of pocket because the taxable income doesn't effect child tax credits only working tax credits of over 18,000 a year earning he said.
It does not effect my scottish child payment. Made to children only in scotland.
It doesn't effect my child benefit in any way either.
The full carers allowance payment of £76.75 is deducted from my income support, but then I get carers element added, its £42.75 a week and with the £76.75 I get every week from carers allowance I'm £42.75 better off a week. I also like the fact the carers allowance can be paid weekly or monthly. I have monthly payments for child benefit, pip, child disability payment and scottish child payment and so I opted for weekly so my money is spread out more and not in chuncks which I find harder to budget with.
So the answer to the question above is whether universal credit or income support claiming carers allowance benefits you in more ways than one.
You get an element of £42.75 a week
You get carers supplement (I think only in scotland uoud have to google that if your outside of scotland) This is two yearly payments made april and December of £270 each time. This equals to just over £10 a week.
You get carers credits which go towards state pension. This is also for anyone claiming child benefit with a child under 12, as long as you have a child under 12 in your care that you claim child benefit for you will be getting credits added to your state pension. You will automatically recieve them there's no need to apply. Also is you are working and getting those credits to you can end up with more credits than you actually need and you can give the extra credits to a partner or a family member that doesn't have as much credits to qualify for the higher rate state pension. This can be done yearly but as I've not phoned to enquire about this I don't know anything more about it. My dad reaches state pension age in December and I'm not sure he knows what his credits are.
Hope this helped anyone looking for info on carers allowance and other benefits. I know it might not be much use to others not in my situation, and for that I'm sorry but please post your experience or others when you eventually get out the other side of it all because there's very little detailed and so much mixed information.
It only effects working Tax credits if you get estimated somewhere over 18,000. It does not have an effect on child tax credits. So if you are solely relying on benefits carers allowance won't effect CHILD tax credits, even though it's a taxable income child tax credits is not effected.
Carers allowance will effect the tax credits as it's a taxable income, but it won't effect it by much. Your tax credit award will most likely go up because you will have the disability element now.
It doesnt go down. It goes up. Carers money or dla does not affect tax credits. My child tax credit went up a lot when i eas awarded carers and dla. 
