I think i may be in big trouble and i need help & advice!

[OhShits]

Have NC as I really don't want to be outed for this problem I seem to be in. (also posted in chat)

So, long story short, me & DP had DD and I submitted a claim for tax credits I filled all the correct information in and sent it off and for 2 years have been receiving tax credits (working tax & child tax credit) renewed last year all ok no questions asked.

Then me and DP have just got married recently and I?ve got all my paper work out to change names over, ID for banks blah blah blah and just noticed on my tax credit award it says 'SINGLE PERSON ELEMENT' looked online to see what it was and it says as it is, got all my old claim awards out and they are all the same.... so did an online calculator and yes I have been paid for 2 years as a single parent. Have never noticed as I never thought to look as I was awarded X amount and thought it was right!

So what do I do? If I phone them and say I have just noticed this we will have to pay back 2 years worth of tax credits, something that will totally ruin us as we already live with barely anything, or even worse they could take me to prison for fraud or something like that?. God I am such a twat for not checking it properly!

Any suggestions or help? Please don't flame me as I have not done this intentionally!

Call them and let them know asap, or the problem will just get bigger

If you look on the award where it says "single person element" that is the amount that you will have to pay back, not all the money they've paid you so far.

They will let you split it over the next couple of years if you need to, they're really not that bad to deal with

Please try not to stress too much about it

OhShits you have made an honest mistake and no one can blame you for that. But now you know and you can't bury your head in the sand. You need to call them and explain the situation and try to agree a workable repayment plan.

If you don't though things could get serious so better be brave and face the music now that it is all just an innocent mistake

The single person's element is exactly the same as the couple's element, so from this point of view there is no need to worry.

However if they have you down as the only person on the claim then presumably they don't have your dp's income details down either? This is where there could be a problem as if they only have your income down you will probably have been overpaid as your income is higher than stated.

You do need to let them know either way asap. If you have been overpaid then they should let you do this gradually rather than all at once. It won't be two full years' of money, but will be a proportion of your partner's income, if indeed that has been missed off your claim.

I wouldn't panic too much. If you declared your joint income correctly but put yourself down as 'single' rather than a couple then the award would have been the same. The work-time threshold up to now has been the same for a single as a couple i.e. 16 hours. If OTOH you only declared your income and had omitted your partner's, that might cause a problem.