Really confused about maternity allowance, ctc, cb, etc! Please help!

[Amy89]

Basically, I have no idea what we'll be entitled to when I go on maternity leave and have Spud..anyone know about this stuff?
Here's our situation -

I started with my company at 12 weeks pregnant (I know I'll get maternity leave and will have to apply for maternity allowance - will I be entitled to it? I bloody hope so, or we're screwed in the highest order)!
I earn £16k p/a, and I'm 23, 24 in December just after my EDD.
OH earns £13k p/a, and is 25, will be 26 in February.
I did a calculator online, and apparently we won't get WTC, CB, or CTC? Surely we should get something other than maternity allowance?

If you got through that and made sense of it, thanks! I really don't know! Job centre are less than helpful when I ask them!

 

[Pearls18]

I don't know about MA, were you working before this job? If so I assume you would be ok because I think you have to have worked a certain amount of weeks overall, look at direct gov.

You'll get child benefit, everyone on your wage gets it £82 a month (£20 a week)

I think you would be entitled to tax credits once baby is born, you will need to give a projected income for this year which will be much lower than £16k because of your MA, they discount the first £100 a week of MA for tax credits which is most of it.

You may be entitled to some housing and council tax benefit but I don't know much about these, maybe look on entitled to?

 

[shellideaks]

The threshold limit for tax credits when you have one child is £2600 per year. So if you're earning more than that, you won't be entitled to any tax credits. However you'll need to work out and let them know your new income once your mat leave starts because as PP put, you deduct £100 a week from your mat pay meaning you're deducting £3,900 in total. Depending on when your mat leave starts/ends and the tax year, you may go just under the threshold.

Hope that makes sense, it's hard to explain lol.

 

[Amy89]

So my pay is effectively cut in half when I'm on MA, I take £100 a week off that, so my income is classed as what, £36 a week? (I think maternity allowance is £136 anyway)

 

[shellideaks]

Yep, that's correct

 

[Amy89]

Right...and if I go on leave in November and the tax year starts in April, that means that one year I'll be earning £8768, then the next year it'll be around the same, plus OH earnings of £13k...and that'll put me under the threshold? Man this is confusing!

 

[shellideaks]

I think so lol. It'll be whatever you've earned up until November plus £36 per week until April. That's your total for the year. Seeing as you don't have a claim yet, you'll get a form for child benefit in the Bounty Pack when you give birth, possibly even a tax credits form too. So just get them filled in and sent off with your new income details and new baby details..

 

[Amy89]

Thank you I think I kinda get it now