child maintenance

[lynnod]

i am a single parent of an 8yr old. until now i havent received any maintenance from her dad( he doesn't see her). i am working full time and receive help with childcare costs and tax credits. i heard from the csa who are going to be deducting money from my ex's wages shortly unless he comes forward with his financial details. i did not request such help-but it could be advantageous!!! the last involvement i had with the csa is when she was a baby and i was on benefits-but they didnt get hold of him. thing is-are these payments regarded as income for tax credit purposes? i'd hate for my tax credits to go down and then he doesn't come up with the money.

[Maggie-Mae]

Hi Lynnod. I dont know whether this applies in every case as I dont work full-time, I work part-time and get tax-credits and the Inland Revenue does not count the maintenance I receive so it doesnt affect my credits, but you can always ring their helpline to check it whether it would be the same in your circumstances. If you claim any benefits from your local authority i.e rent or council tax benefits you will find that they do take any maintenance payments into account. xx

[lynnod]

maggie-mae,

thanks for your answer. hope you don't mind me asking but do you get a lot in maintenance? the csa's calculation for my ex to pay is around �40 per week. i don't get help with my rent.

[Maggie-Mae]

Hi Lynood - I get �300 per month for 3 children so I would imagine that �40.00 a week is probably pretty fair.

The only thing I will say is that in my experience the CSA are extemely slow, which I understand is because of the complicated system they have to work under, so dont be suprised if it takes a while for you to start getting your payments through. I believe that they will back date the payments in any event to the day they first notified the absent parent that they intend to collect from them so you should get your arrears.

Take care

[madham]

Hi Lynnod

Any maintenance you get, even if it's �500 a month won't affect your working family tax credits or your childcare tax credits it does state on the form not to include maintenance payments

It only affects you if you are on a low income and you receive help towards you mortgage/rent or council tax say will it affect that.

I earn quite a good wage at the newspaper I work for and I get �200 a month maintenance for 1 child and it has never affected my payments, also if you are in doubt put it in your notes on your tax credits application and then you can't go wrong (I always did this when I had the full form to fill out).