Can anyone please help with a quick Tax Credits query?

[OhStopthat]

Just going through our form for 2011-2012 and realised it still says I work 40 hours when I haven't for nearly 2 years.

WIill this affect things? DH works full-time and last year earned £36,000. I don't work and have no income. We have been receiving around £40 per month in tax credits and have never claimed for the childcare element.

Can anyone please advise?

No, it won't make any difference, but you do need to tell them.

The only thing that would make a difference, maybe, is if you are recorded as having earnings. But at £36k your DH's income should lift you out of Tax Credits anyway, unless you have lots of children.

Do the calculator at entitledto.co.uk and compare it to what you get now. If it is less, they will want the difference back, but may take installments.

I don't know anything about the higher income end of things, but I know that we get a certain amount for working over a certain amount of hours (haha, vague I know!) so it could be an issue.

Thank you.

On that level of income are we still entitled to Tax Credits for the years ending 2012 and 2013?

There are so many factors - how many kids, how old they are, do you pay for childcare, etc etc - you need to use one on the online calculators like on entitled to.

britta tax credits are unaffected by savings. Check your stuff before giving wrong advice!
OP is it showing your income as zero? If there is one person in the household I.e. your DH who works full time, your tax credits won't be affected by the fact that you're not working unless they were also taking into account your income, in which case you may have been underpaid IYSWIM
HTH

olimpia thank you that's very helpful.

Maybe I'm being thick but I can't see any reference in Britta's posts to savings.

Sorry it was lougle not britta

I don't think she's mentioned them either...

It depends... Our tax credits always go up when I am working. It is called second adult element. I also get disability element and childcare, all of which could be wrong if tax credits have the wrong details.

And that has included times when I have been working with very little income - ie when self employed. Just doing the hours was enough to trigger an increase in tax credits.

I think the main things that affect tax credits are:
Number if children
Ages of children (eg baby element)
Childcare costs
Any disabilities
Number of hours worked
How many adults are working
Income - earned plus some benefits

So it really is worth doing one of the calculators.

olimpia perhaps you'd save a blush for when you retract your reference to me? I made absolutely no reference to savings; in fact no-one did, and I am very sure of my facts.

Probably best just to fill in all of the form honestly to show what your current circumstances are. We claim as a couple and run our own business and pay ourselves a fairly small amount, and I claim for a disability element and childcare element. Those are our circumstances and I leave it up to her majesty's tax credits people to do the workings out. Tax issues make my head hurt, and I only ever find online advice confusing as I don't really understand the terms used!

Sajaruss.
We claim as a couple, and run small business, it works out better paying ourselves a small wage than it did as both being self employed.