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Original poster

I work on Tax Credits- AMA?

55 replies

TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 21:36

I often see threads about Tax Credits, mostly negative. I have offered advice previously where I thought I could help.

Wondered if anyone had any questions

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purpleme12 · 07/07/2018 22:48

I don't know what's asked so I just wondered. I will need to claim soon and I've never had to before

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 22:49

nevertwerked they do, quite often now actually. I’d say for the past 2/3 years since RTI was introduced.

In some cases it works against TC. Say you earned 10k but had been on mat leave. PAYE recognizes the whole 10k whereas TC would disregard some of it.

It’s definitely better than it used to be though

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NapQueen · 07/07/2018 22:51

Tbh ive found the whole thing so stressful from start to finish. With the end of this school year we are removing both of ours from the same provider we have used since dc1 (6) was 6mo. Dc2 (3.5) will then go to a preschool which offers the 30h funding and we will sort afterschool between family. Its pretty shit as he only has one more year with the CM before full time school so id rather not but seeing that second compliance check come through the door (the last one hit when I had pneumonia) was enough for me to feel I had no other choice.

Im tempted to believe cynically that they target the ones who are using providers who dont offer the 30h funding in order to provoke exactly this sort of reaction.

NeverTwerkNaked · 07/07/2018 22:52

Oh that’s interesting. It must be four years ago that I had to claim and it just seemed insane that I had to trek around libraries printing of payslips with young children whinging, when HMRC had all that info in another department (we were temporarily homeless after fleeing my exH so getting into work was impossible for a few weeks) .

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 22:52

purple don’t worry about sending anything with forms, just fill them in and return them. If HMRC. need anything they’ll write to you.

You can request the form online at gov.uk too

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purpleme12 · 07/07/2018 22:54

Can I ask as well I have a wage but also have commission on top. Most months I end up with same amount of commission but of course this isn't always the case... So wondering how they'd work out how much I should get if the amount I earn changes sometimes??

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 22:55

Napqueen it is a massive stress but we have no way of seeing what providers offer. If your childcare costs are due to reduce the chances of checks are lower. I know it’s a pita, I often advise people to keep a cardboard wallet to add bills or invoices and receipts to as they go.

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Ohlellykelly · 07/07/2018 22:55

Wouldn't it be good if tac credits just used my self assessment calculate my tc award, lime shared information. I know child benefit now share info with tax credits.

Ohlellykelly · 07/07/2018 22:56

Excuse the typos sorry.

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 22:57

nevertrwerked checks are sometimes carried out tbf, if some info is missing from PAYE or there’s a discrepency for example. Definitely getting better at linking up now though

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NapQueen · 07/07/2018 22:58

They will reduce to zero Grin as we will only need 1hr after school a day and family are stepping in to do that.

We keep all our docs, the stressful part for me is the waiting period. The not knowing if docs have arrived. The doubt that even though I know the days of each call ive made updating my details, that something somewhere may have slipped through the net. Even though I know it hasnt. The doubt sets in.

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 22:58

lelly it is harder on SA than with PAYE. TC can line up with PAYE monthly now, obviously trickier to do that with SA

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Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 23:00

It will do nap is say if you kept good records and send recorded delivery you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Do you use your Personal Tax account?

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Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 23:02

purple it’s down to you really. We would use whatever income estimate you provide. Whether that’s based on previous year or estimated based on a high month. Responsibility always on the claimant to provide the income info

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Yoyooo · 07/07/2018 23:04

My childcare costs change weekly - how often should I update this and what average should I use? (At the moment I'm letting TC know the last 4 weeks average but my sure if what I'm doing is correct!)

tabulahrasa · 07/07/2018 23:06

“tabula honestly in all my time working with TC claims I’d say 99% of overpayments I’ve looked at have been caused by failure to notify HMRC of changes Or increased income.”

So I just happen to know a whole load of people that are in the other 1%... that seems fairly unlikely tbh, lol.

purpleme12 · 07/07/2018 23:07

God this is hard. Never done it before and what with commission but also had a wage rise this last month (still eligible for tax credits but obviously makes a difference either way) that's what's going to make it hard for me.

Unicornmammy · 07/07/2018 23:07

Hello... just wondering are many appeals to decisions successful, and personal circumstamces looked at or is it very strict and a rule is a rule regardless.... thankyou

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 23:09

yoyoo do they ever settle into an average over a longer period?? HMRC will only update costs if they change by £10 per week or more.
Are the completely different from one 4 week period to the next?

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Yoyooo · 07/07/2018 23:13

They can be anything from £90 a week to £200 a week - no rhyme or reason. My husband is SE so sometimes does not work a particular day due to weather or whatever it may be, and my childminder only charges for what we use.

Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 23:15

tabula you may do. Obviously errors do occur, and there’s a disputed overpayment process for such cases. The truth is lots and lots of people earn more one year than they did the last or are late in telling us a partner moved in or that they started to receive a taxable benefit.

It’s a complex system and people do unintentionally fall foul of it.

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Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 23:17

unicorn I wouldn’t like to guess at number of successful appeals etc. I will say exceptional circumstances can be considered though. Say you were late in telling us you had ended employment but had suffered a bereavement or illness which prevented you from informing us for example

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Original poster
TaxCreditLady · 07/07/2018 23:19

yoyoo is day in that case keep HMRC updated and keep all receipts from childminder ready to send

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NapQueen · 07/07/2018 23:27

Tax I do log onto my personal tax account fairly regularly to see if I have any mesaages about it.

IWantMyHatBack · 07/07/2018 23:29

'They can be anything from £90 a week to £200 a week - no rhyme or reason.'

I would suggest looking at the last 3 months of bills and averaging out a weekly cost from that. One of mine is monthly, and varies, one of mind is termly and varies. I ended up working out the annual cost and dividing by 52. Took a while, but I'm confident it's current and can back up with invoices.