Hi, my name is Suzanne_70! Will UC class tax refunds as income?

Suzanne_70

Hello
My partner is on long term sick and isn't being paid by work anymore but is receiving some kind of tax refund weekly of £45 a week. We have a joint UC claim and I am his carer. We haven't received anything so far but are hoping to find out on the 6th for any payment on the 10th.  Will they class the tax payments as income? 

L_Volunteer

Hi @Suzanne_70

Welcome to Scope's forum. It is great to see you have joined us. Unfortunately, this is not my area of expertise which means I am hoping someone with more knowledge in this area can respond to you soon with more specific guidance. However, in the meantime, you may find the Government's link about how your earnings affect your payments useful. If so, you can find it at https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-your-earnings-affect-your-payments. I hope this does help but if you have any more questions or anything else we can support you with, please don't hesitate to reach out to us again. Take care for now and I will look forward to hearing from you again soon 

poppy123456

Hi,

I've never heard of a weekly tax refund. Are you sure this is what it is? Is it a works pension?

calcotti

If it is a tax refund it will be treated as if it were earnings. If you have a Work Allowance they may fall to be disregarded, anything over the Work Allowance will be subject to the normal taper rate.

poppy123456 said:

Hi,

I've never heard of a weekly tax refund. Are you sure this is what it is? Is it a works pension?

PAYE will generate tax refunds and if partner was being paid weekly then they will get weekly refunds.

poppy123456

Thanks @calcotti, you learn something new everyday.

Suzanne_70

I should have said .. yes he does get paid weekly as he works for Royal Mail and never wanted his wages changed to monthly.
Thanks for the answer.

calcotti

poppy123456 said:

Thanks @calcotti, you learn something new everyday.

It can be a problem. If someone has been well paid and then becomes ill and drops to SSP, the impact of the tax refunds can be to take the earnings over the threshold that prevents a WCA referral being made.