MCMANUS HALL
  • Services
    • Limited Company Accounts
    • Taxation Services
    • Self Assessment
    • CIS
    • Registered Charities
    • Xero
    • Growth Management
    • Payroll Services
    • Bookkeeping and VAT
    • Business Consultancy
    • Company Secretarial
  • Cloud Software
  • News
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Login
Latest News

Universal Credit eligibility expands to higher rate taxpayers

12/17/2021

 
Autumn Budget reforms have created a surprising clash of benefits and income tax.
The Covid-19 pandemic was the first time many people utilised Universal Credit (UC) for the first time – between February and May 2020, the number of households claiming UC rose by 1.7 million to 4.2 million. In March 2020, the UC standard allowance was temporarily increased by the equivalent of £1,000 a year, but in October 2021, that extra payment came to an end. In its place, the Budget contained announcements of two UC improvements that are now in effect:
  • All working elements were increased by £500 a year, meaning that an extra £500 of net income can be earned before any clawback of UC started; and
  • The rate of clawback was reduced from 63% to 55%. As a result, if an extra £100 of net income is received and this leads to a reduction in UC payments, the loss of UC will be £55 rather than the previous £63.
​
So what?
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has looked at this question and produced a surprising answer. The lower taper rate, applying to a higher starting point, now means that it is possible for higher rate taxpayers to be eligible for UC, a situation that once only applied in Scotland, where the higher rate threshold is £6,608 lower than in the rest of the UK.

One example the IFS gave is that a single earner couple with two children and monthly rent of £750 could have earnings of up to £58,900 a year in 2020/21 before losing all their UC entitlement – £9,600 more than before the Budget announcement. Not only is that ceiling well into the higher rate tax band, it is also above the £50,000 level at which the notorious High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge begins to take effect.

There are many assumptions underlying that IFS calculation, not the least of which is that the couple are not disqualified from any UC entitlement by having savings of above £16,000. In practice, the IFS calculates that 26% of all families will be entitled to UC, a proportion that rises to 84% for lone parents.

The interaction of the tapering of UC, higher rate tax and child benefit tax is complex. If you think you might be caught by that trio, make sure you understand the ramifications – you might find an extra £100 of gross earnings are worth less than £10 net.

Comments are closed.

    ​Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from Pam loves pie, Homedust, wuestenigel, Patrick Cannon Tax Barrister, wuestenigel, Brett Jordan, wuestenigel, raisin_raisin, wuestenigel, SME Loans, Alexandre Prevot, Jirka Matousek, wuestenigel (CC BY 2.0), wuestenigel, Jirka Matousek, moneybright, aronbaker2, foundin_a_attic, QuoteInspector.com, wuestenigel, Kate#2112, Semtrio, Rawpixel Ltd, itmpa, GoSimpleTax, DPP Law, UC Davis College of Engineering, 401(K) 2013, REM Photo ~ Sketchy Internet, Chris Yarzab, focusonmore.com, focusonmore.com, willbuckner, EpicTop10.com, Tony Webster, wuestenigel, B Rosen, London Less Travelled
  • Services
    • Limited Company Accounts
    • Taxation Services
    • Self Assessment
    • CIS
    • Registered Charities
    • Xero
    • Growth Management
    • Payroll Services
    • Bookkeeping and VAT
    • Business Consultancy
    • Company Secretarial
  • Cloud Software
  • News
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Login