WORKING TAX CREDITS
Tax Credits customers in the North are being written to about the Move to Universal Credit. If you get this letter, known as a Migration Notice letter, from the Department for Communities you must claim Universal Credit to continue receiving financial support.
Self Employed people here have been told that the migration process has started and should include everyone on WTC by the end of 2024. Everyone completing their WTC renewal pack will have got the notice in the pack. Our advice is not to move until you get your letter. If you receive a Migration Notice letter, you have three months to make a claim to Universal Credit before your tax credit payments end. Your tax credits will end even if you do not claim Universal Credit.
When you move from Tax Credits to Universal Credit, if the amount you are entitled to on Tax Credits is more than you receive on Universal Credit, a top up is available – this is called ‘Transitional Protection’. If your circumstances change before you make your claim, this may affect the amount you get. You can only get Transitional Protection if you have received a Migration Notice letter from the Department for Communities and you claim Universal Credit within the three month deadline date on your letter.
Any Transitional Protection you receive as part of your Universal Credit claim may stop if your circumstances change.
In addition those migrating from tax credits:
- who are gainfully self-employed will be eligible for a 12-month start-up grace period before the Minimum Income Floor applies
- who have more than £16,000 of capital or savings are eligible for Universal Credit for a maximum 12 assessment periods
Although people may have been self-employed for years, Universal Credit (UC) will be treating those migrated as a new start and giving them 12 months start up grace period before introducing the Minimum Income Floor.
We, like many others , have grave concerns about the migration process and how it will affect ordinary people. Concerns about the level of support being offered by government and how the community sector will be overwhelmed with requests for assistance. Concerns about how people will cope with no payments of UC for 5 weeks, people getting into debt or arears in this period. We also have concerns about peoples’ literacy and IT ability given that it is a digital system that will require digital journal entries on a regular basis.
We will be working with our clients to address their issues as this approaches and we will try to keep people updated.
