I've been stupid RE Tax Credits

[IsItOKToPanic]

I've NC'd and made a new account for this one..

I know I'm going to get flamed but I need some information.

DP and I are claiming tax credits as we have 1 DC. We get approximately £400p/m. When it came to renewing in July I truthfully put our annual income down for the previous year and as DP was on a temporary contract, I said that the figure was unlikely to change.

DP has had a new job as of October last year. Taking our annual income to £25k. I haven't declared this yet as I'm terrified of what might happen and we needed the money.

I'm thinking of telling them in April when we get DPs p60. DP thinks we should just leave it until we renew in June.

Does anyone know what will happen? Will I go to prison? Will they just take money out of my bank? Please anyone with experience of this? Any advice welcome.

You'll just end up owing them money I would imagine, I don't think you've actually broken any rules unless you lie on the renewal. It's good practise to tell them as soon as a change occurs and they prefer it because it means you don't owe them anything then, but I don't think what you've done is technically illegal (could be wrong, not sure). But I don't think they'll do anything per se, just be prepared to be hit with a massive bill (but you can pay in instalments). You won't go to jail!

There is no deadline for income increases, it is fine to wait until renewal. However you will have an overpayment so budget for that.

I think you just need to phone them to clarify, I think that if you phone before they enquire about anything you won't have any negative repercussions, they'll just adjust the amounts if needed.

You tax credits will be reduced to pay off the overpayment. Or if not entitled to any after renewal you can pay in instalments.

You will have to pay any extra they have paid you since your dp got a job - they usually stop them until your debt is paid if you have other income.
The sooner you sort it the easier.

Youll just end up having to pay everything back not entitled to so budget for that to happen. Tax credits will stop and youll be paying them.

Phone them today and tell them about the new job, then the sooner it’s sorted they can work out a repayment plan for you. If you leave it till renewal you’ll end up with even more to pay back!

Thank you, that reassures me slightly. Will they accept instalments? I don't think we'd be entitled to tax credits so hav ing them reduced won't be an option

You’re obviously stressed about it, so why not phone them now? The longer you leave it the higher any overpayment will be so the more you’ll have to pay back.

There's no deadline for reporting a mid-year income change as this would be picked up during the renewals period anyway but the longer you leave it, the bigger your overpayment will be.

Do you repay the overpayments with interest?

Tell them ASAP!!

I'm currently paying back nearly £7k as we were overpaid DESPITE filling in the renewals correctly

The longer you leave it, the worse it will be and the more you will owe!!!

Calm down. It's not unusual.

I owed £290. I paid back in instalments. They were more than accepting of me naming what I could afford.

I would call and tell them.
Next renewal they will either
Ask for monthly big instalments
Stop paying you all together

Not worth it

Same here, despite giving correct info we were overpaid and now paying back in monthly installment until summer 2019. The whole system is a nightmare and can't cope well with changes in income or status, even when you tell them!

I had to pay back money and they accepted instalments. It's now finished. I'm already due them £170 for this coming year apparently. No idea how as I got about £32 for 2 months before they stopped them 😡

You need to call them as soon as possible OP. If your OH only started this new job in October then your income up until the end of March should still mean that you are entitled to CTC and possibly WTC for 2017-18. The clawback above approx £16k is 41p for every £1 earned. See link www.which.co.uk/money/tax/tax-credits-and-benefits/guides/tax-credits/how-to-calculate-tax-credits
It's complicated though as the threshold for CTC is higher than that for WTC. So for 2018-19 you could still be entitled to Child Tax credit.

No interest Elementtree.

Use the entitledto website to see roughly what you are entitled to but ring them up today to stop the overpayment growing.

I had to pay back an overpayment last year even though it was their mistake but they will take instalments.

Sooner you sort it, the less of an overpayment there will be.

Tell them ASAP. There will be overpayments, which you'll need to repay. However, it is usually taken from current awards over a period rather than requiring a lump sum.

Delaying telling them would just lead to a bigger overpayment.

Op you do know that the Tax Credits now access your details automatically at renewal time? When your husband's income details are registered at tge end of the tax year they will have that info and generate your renewal based on it. By not telling them you're just delaying the inevitable and you'll end up owing more. Nothing bad will happen, they'll just adjust the figures and re-calculate your payments. If you owe them anything they'll deduct it from future payments. Nobody's taking you to prison. You can report a change in circumstances online I think (once you do the official registration), you don't even have to phone them.

Fyi they don't automatically offer repayments, but instead will just send a letter saying you owe them x amount. So I have received two terrifying letters saying I owed £1000+ each time. But you can phone and ask for repayments instead, which I have been given each time, but 2nd time I had to really push to get a manageable repayments hurts my pride but I cried at their recommended repayment

www.gov.uk/changes-affect-tax-credits
You need to inform them within 30 days if your annual income increases or decreases by more than £2500.