Tax crefits renewal, help!!!!

[Gemziewooo]

hi last year i gave an estimate for my earnings this year of £6500. i have only earned £5300. will i be introuble for giving false information? and will my payments go down this year? tax credits r so confusing

No you will not be in trouble, I would have thought your payments would rise if your income goes down.

Estimates can only ever be best guesses. The tax credit system makes awards based on the previous year's income so, unless you earn exactly the same year in, year out, there are always adjustments. As said above, if you earned less than you thought your award may be a little higher. Have you tried running your actual income through the benefits checker at www.turn2us.org.uk?

No, the difficulty starts if you earn more than you estimated - that's when you have to repay the difference.

I always overestimate. I'm due a wage rise 3 months (only 50p an hour or so) into my contract so I've estimated all next years income on the basis of getting that rise. I might be losing out on a bit but my sister had to pay back a chunk of money due to an error and it was horrendous for her. Since then I always err on the side of caution.