Can anyone help me with tax credits?

[gemmummy]

After my recent split with my H, I believe I am now entitled to claim some tax credits. Can someone run down what these are and basically give me a bit of plain english advice? Thanks in advance xx

You can claim as a single parent.

You get a child element, which depends on how many children you have. If any of your children recieve DLA you may get an extra weekly/monthly payment.

If you work over 16 hours you may get some Working Tax Credits, if your income is lower than £15k

If you pay for Ofsted registered Childcare and work over 16 hours you may be entitled to up to 70% of that cost back.

Ring them and chat to them.

Hi I have had some experience with tax credits so I hope this helps. Firstly, best to give them a call and get a form -0845 300 3900. You will probably need to know your national insurance number. I think that you can claim only if you have children and depending on your income (up to £45,000 a year, above that and forget it -until next year when it rises). If you earn roughly under 15,000 then you can get free school dinners too for your kids I think. But they are well worth claiming - I have claimed before as a single parent of 2 children and if I were you I'd make your claim asap. The only thing to beware of though is that 1)It can get confusing because they base it on your last year's earnings so make sure you make it clear that you have just split up with H. 2) They have on occasion asked me to pay money back to them (no more than £400) saying they have overpaid me - which confused me as I gave them all my correct details and they were the ones who worked out how much to give me. A little inconvienient and just something to be aware of. Good luck and call straight away cos I think they start your claim from when you call them x

The best first step is to run the details of your new household circumstances through this Online Benefits Calculator answering the questions as fully as you can. It will work out what benefits you are likely to qualify as a whole, including Tax Credits, and give you an idea of how much money you are likely to be awarded.

When you fill in the forms for the various agencies you'll then be able to judge if the award is what you were expecting or very different.

Easy really.

I strongly suggest you work through some different scenarios such as not working, working 16-30 hours and working 30+ hours. Include your rent / council tax in the calculators etc. and record the data in a spreadsheet so you can refer to and use the information to decide where to pitch your claim.

I mean that sincerely. Working more hours may mean you lose out, especially if you have non registered childcare.

If you are proficient with spreadsheets, you can work out all the cots associated with work day by day and week by week so you can assess the total impact. Such costs are often hidden costs such as the cost of lunch at work, the extra travel costs or additional childcare costs for working late etc.