Working tax credits advice please

[Leoboy]

Hi. My husband is on a low wage and we are therefore get the full tax credits. My kids are now both at school and I therefore want to get back to work. I want to work on a relief basis as there are no permanent contracts about in my field of work at the moment. My husband (who I suspect wants me at home cooking, cleaning and doing school runs) is saying that if I start work I must not tell tax credit people as they'll stop our money while they re do our claim and in that time we'll lose the house (drama, drama, drama!!). He says we'll tell them on next years renewal as he feels we'll be in a better financial position then and can repay any overpayment we may get (goodness knows how). I have looked on tax credit website and it looks like if we do this we can be fined £300.
Sorry, this is so boring. My question is has anyone had a change of circumstances like this to tell tax credit people about, and did your money stop completely while they re-did your claim.
Thanks

[omfgkillmenow]

even with your part time wages you will probably get full tax credits, you will need to check but i think threshold is something like 24k plus you would be eligible for the child care component if both out working.

[omfgkillmenow]

there is a tax credits calculator here

[Leoboy]

Thanks for replying. Looking at the calculator thing we would still be eligible. Wonder if when I say I am earning however much they'll stop the money we rely on now to recalculate our entitlement or whether it just carries on while they alter it. My know it all husband is saying his friend's money was stopped for 7 weeks. (not sure u believe him though, think he's just panicking). Would hate to only get one shift a month and to lose the money while they do their paperwork.

[FrustratedSycamorePants]

leoboy they don't stop your money whilst they recalculate. They keep paying you and then ask for the overpayment back. Don't risk the fine.

[Leoboy]

That's what I thought. My dh is so convinced he's always right! Thanks for replying, you have restored my faith that I don't in fact know nothing as my dh would like me to believe!

[FrustratedSycamorePants]

"Leave the bastard" sorry I had to throw that in. DH has swapped jobs 4 times this year and changed childcare providers a huge amount, and not been stopped yet. They may get confused if you can't give them an average number of hours per week, but you have a set amount of time in which to tell them of a change, and can't tell them of a change before it happens.
Either way a change in employment this tax year wouldn't affect you until next year.

[Fairylea]

They only stop payment if the claim stops for example if you go from being a single parent to part of a couple or vice versa. If you just change job details or start working nothing stops it is just an updated claim and they give you a new award notice.

[Leoboy]

Ha! "leave the bastard" made me laugh! He is ok really, just has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about me always being right!! Thanks for the info, need all the ammunition I can get if I don't want to be stuck at home forever!!

[DameEnidsOrange]

When I started doing bank work I rang them up and told them. All they asked was for me to estimate how much I would earn between then and the end of the tax year, and they based the claim on that.

As it was, I didn't get as much work as I thought I would, so I got an increase in TCs this year.

For every pound you earn over the threshold (varies depending on number and ages of children) they reduce your TCs by 40p ish. So you should never be worse off

[Leoboy]

Thankyou fairy lea. Have you experience of this?

[nikcname]

I've been claiming tax credits since they started. Never had an under or overpayment (touch wood!). I call them the day I have a change of employer/pay, tends to be on a Monday. Always had been readjusted by the Friday when I get my payments.

Not worth the stress of paying it back TBH!

[Fairylea]

Yep. :) I was a single mum when I met dh.I was working 16 hours a week and getting about 131 in tax credits.

When dh moved in they stopped all payments and took 9 weeks to process our joint claim....!! No money in that time !

Then we got about £96 a week.... dh was on about 14k and I was on 4400. One child.
During the last couple of years we have changed jobs each twice and I am now sahm to our new baby and they have never stopped any money in all that time .. they just update the details and calculate a new award.

[Fairylea]

Sorry meant to add we always rang up and told them as soon as we had a change of jobs etc. Overpayments can quickly add up and also with the introduction of universal credit in April I don't know what the new thresholds will be so don't get caught out.

[Leoboy]

Thanks everyone.