entitlements

[maximus]

im on a low wage and am finding it difficult to make ends meet in short i could lose my house . im on �5.50 an hour with no kids and a partner who cant find work . we get only �38 from ctc and have to pay �100 a week in council tax with a mortgage approaching �400 any suggestions?

[redcrx]

�100 a week council tax?? is that right?

[bednobs]

if you pay over 400 pounds in council tax a month, i would seriously be anticipating moving to a smaller place. if you are just 1 person as you suggest, not part of a family then you would also get a 25% discount, meaning council tax approaching 500 pounds a month on your property!

[Ethel]

I'm sure you mean you pay �100 council tax and �400 mortgage per month.

Contact Citizens' Advice or your local benefits office for advice.

Your partner may be entitled to Job Seekers' Allowance, or you may be entitled to some form of income support.

[Oneeyedvic]

Can your partner not find work or not find work that s/he wants.

IMHO it is not that difficult to find work if you really want to and if there is an option of cleaning toilets or losing my house, I know where my hand would be!

[Kathyan]

What is ctc please?

[Ethel]

Council Tax Credit

[themas]

ctc is child tax credit. Council tax benefit is ctb. If you are paying �100 p wk council tax you are presumably not getting any council tax benefit. It seems likely from what you say about your income that you could be entitled to some.

As you are working and on a low income you should probably be getting wtc (working tax credit) as well as ctc. The �38 p. wk figure seems low.

Go to your local CAB and ask for a complete benefit check. Take with you all the papers about tax credits, council tax, and any other benefits you get.