Working tax credit: All you need to know about Universal Credit

Those who have benefited from Working Tax Credit beforehand, may soon need to switch to a different system that’s called the Universal Credit. The British Government is currently introducing this umbrella –credit system to provide cover for all sorts of other credits and a couple of benefits as well. As the universal credit is currently being introduced in stages there are already several areas where people can only obtain a working tax credit while in other areas people can only apply for a Universal Credit. If someone’s working credit expires in a Universal Credit area, they can apply for a credit renewal and will be granted the Universal credit automatically.

Let’s see what distinguishes thesae two types of credits

Universal Credit

Since 2016 the British Government has decided to slowly start to implement a new credit system that is to replace the previously working tax credits such as the working tax credit and the child tax credit. The Universal credit system promises a system that’s way easier to deal with, has a clearer way to obtain and also will be easier to manage. The Universal credit is to provide cover instead of the below credits and benefits so call the tax credits phone number for clarification.

• Housing benefit

• Working tax credit

• Child tax credit

• Income support

• Income based jobseeker allowance

• Income related employment and support allowance

The areas where Universal Credit is currently being introduced will automatically switch the above tax credits and benefits to Universal Credit. The applicant will not need to do anything else, they will only receive information from the Department for Work and Pensions letting the applicant know that their tax credit or benefit has been switched to Universal Credit. This goes for all the situations which has no connection with data change or expiration.

Universal credit instead of working tax credit

You can get a Universal Credit if you have a low income or if you are unemployed. Universal credit has the same sort of credit calculator located on the website of the UK government like working tax does. This way you will get an easier insight as to how much money you can be granted per month. If you want to check whether you are eligible to get a Universal Credit, the easiest way is to go ahead and check the Working Tax credit or Child tax credit requirements as the credit eligibility system goes the same way. The total sum someone may opt for in a normal situation equals GBP 1960 per year that means around an extra GBP 120-130 per month. There are monthly payments which generally can be paid by wire transfer or by a postal order.

Currently you can claim Universal Tax credit the same way you claim a standard credit tax: which means you will need to obtain a standard claim form. This you can also do online. It will take about 2 weeks for you to get the claim form. Once you submit it, the evaluation process may take an additional 5 weeks. Therefore it’s best to apply well in advance.