to think tax credits office just pluck random figures out of thin air when deciding how much to give claimants.

[littleSpud]

dh has had to take a pay cut of 9k, taking us from 32k to 23k. we have 3 dcs I am a sahm at the moment

when he was on 32k, we got about 60 a week in tax credits. I did an online calculation which said if he was on 23k we would get about 130 a week

we got our award letter today and we are only getting 70 a week based on his new income!

how the fuck can we take an almost 10k income drop and only get another ten quid a week. it does not make any sense. we are going to be skint and its shit. I genuinely think they just choose random figures as I spoke to my friend who's dp is on 22k (so tiny bit less than dh) and for 3 dc they get 150 !

my youngest dc 4 months old so before the daily mail readers start kicking off I will be looking for work soon. sooner than I thought by looks of it

[HouseofEliot]

They base is on your last years income. We ended up owing them £600 a few years ago. They are too confusing.

[Staryyeyedsurprise]

YANBU that there is a lack of clarity in awards/entitlements - I know you can use online calculators to find a result but the mechanisms seem a mystery.

This isn't going to go well though OP.

[paddleduck]

DH is on about 24k and we get absoloutly nothing...

[Tryharder]

I agree.

I have rung them before to be told one thing. Then have rung again 5 minutes later, spoke to someone else and been told something completely different.

[SpottyTeacakes]

I wonder if your £60 a week figure was wrong. We earned less than £32k (more like £28k) and were getting £45 a week. Now dp has a pay rise and we've hit £32k it's been reduced to £28 a week.

They definitely need to make it clearer though.

[DiaDuit]

Fucking hell! That is some drop.

I agree OP- there seems to be no obvious pattern/logic to what they award. I'm sure there is a formula but it is not at all clear. Very confusing.

[Jumblebee]

It goes off the previous years income doesn't it? Unless you ask for your award to be based on a current year assessment?

Tax credits are a nightmare, I dropped my hours down and am earning over £250 per month less than I previously was and they still cut it down by £60 per month (not a lot really but nearly 2 weeks good shopping for me) Every day is a constant worry about money it seems!

[Tortoiseturtle]

I also think it's random. My income has been static but they pay far less than they used to. In fact last year they sent me a bill for £700 in supposed overpayments, requiring me to pay immediately, which I have refused to do. It was months ago and I haven't heard back yet.

[Beautifulmonster]

It's for the previous year though isn't it? So recent changes won't affect it.

I had a massive sudden rise then I have been asked to provide receipts for toys, clothes and food over a three month period to prove the children live with me!

[littleSpud]

I don't give a shit if "it doesn't go well"

the dm'ers can fuck right off

glad its not just me that is completely mystified by them though

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Does his P60 say he earned 23K last year, or does it have pro rata drop, making it between 23K? and 32K?

[DiaDuit]

If recent changes dont affect it then why has OP had a drop? And also my friend's son left full time education in may and hers dropped.

[DiaDuit]

Its a stupid system to base it on the previous year's income. People dont need the top up based on what they earned in the past, they need it based on their current situation.

[SpottyTeacakes]

Mine have dropped effective immediately since I informed them of dp's pay rise. They seem to only base it on previous years when it suits them

[ouryve]

It's based on last year, but if you've had a sharp change in income, I think you can ask them to correct it. The wouldn't be able to claw it back quick enough if your family income had risen by the same amount.

For those confused by the amounts on similar incomes, it also depends on the number of children you have. So a family with 3 kids will have a higher cut off than a family with none.

[littleSpud]

as an aside the woman I spoke to at tax credits to tell them dh was earning less was snotty and rude and it was almost as if she didn't believe me about his pay cut

as if there would be any point lying! like they wouldn't just find out

and to the poster who asked if the money I was getting before (the 60) was correct, it was what I started getting after on my renewal was done in may so must have been

[Staryyeyedsurprise]

DiaDuit
If recent changes dont affect it then why has OP had a drop? And also my friend's son left full time education in may and hers dropped.

OP hasn't had a drop in tax credits. Her DH has had a £9k decrease in his wage. Tax credits have increased by £10pw.

I wonder if rafa is right and it has something to do with being pro-rated. If you can get your head around the workings of tax credits, you might also consider retraining as rocket scientist.

[SpottyTeacakes]

It was me I only have two children so that could be why, I thought they'd stopped increasing it for more than two children but I must be mistaken.

Do you rent? You're probably able to get housing benefit if you do

[ouryve]

And my none, I meant one - obviously you don't get CTC with no kids!

[littleSpud]

The wouldn't be able to claw it back quick enough if your family income had risen by the same amount

exactly ouryve if I owed THEM they would soon be wanting it back

I would love nothing better than to earn too much to claim the damn things but we need the money so no choice but to dance to their bloody tune

imagine ringing them up and saying just cancel it all, we don't need your damn money

[DiaDuit]

Ah my mistake. OP had an increase. My friend still had an immediate drop though. And OP's altered immediately. How, if it supposed to be based on last year's income?

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Recent changes don't affect it as much. If the Op's DH recieved his pay cut from the 1st day of the last tax year i.e. April 2013, then he has had a 10K pay cut and the amount should be based on a salary of 23K and the OP need to get them to check the award is correct.

If the OP's DH had his salary reduced part way through the tax year, then he had the first part of the year paid at 1/12 of 32K per month and the rest at 1/12 of 23K per month. His salary for the last financial year is the total of those two figure, which is what the award will be based on.

You can get them to try and calculate it based on what you think you will earn this year, but in my experience, this will lead to a multitude of HMRC fuck ups. I really wouldn't advise it if you are going to be looking for work and increasing your income. You will just end up owing them money.

[AnAirOfHope82]

I think its stupid too.

Dh worked nmw we got 170 per week two kids and WTC due to his disability. He got worse so had to go on ESA and its now no wtc and 100 tc per week. So our income goes down and ctc goes down. Fair enough but I kind of thought if we get less money to feed our kids tc would go up to help feed them.

Now im stuck not working, not claiming as I have a 2yo and have to care for dh. For me to work I would need child care for two children under 5 and an adult day care or nurse to also care for dh 5 days per week. I would only get nmw and could not afford the care I currently do for 61 per week! If I just went to work and something happened to dc or dh I could be put in prison for neglect. I just cant win.

Feel free to flame me and kick me when im down as im so numb now I will not even feel it

[catinbootz]

If you have a large drop in income you need to ask them to do a 'current year calculation'