Tax credits help

[mennie1980]

Hi I was wondering if someone knowledgable could help....

We have just adopted a 2 year old. I am on adoption leave (50 salary plus SAP) approx £1K per month. My hubby is self employed and earns £15K per year.

According to tax credit website we are only entitled to child benefit.

Surely this can't be right? In 6 month my income will drop to £133 a week.

Can anyone advise?

Your tax credit entitlement is based on your total household income for the financial year and the threshold for qualifying is not all that high - £25k or so. If your combined gross income is currently £15k + £12k then you could easily be over the threshold. If your earnings were higher in the first months of the financial year, you'll definitely be over the threshold. However, if your income is going to be substantially lower in April 2014, you should complete a Tax Credit form giving them your 2013/14 actual income, and then follow up with a call to their helpline giving them your new lower income so that the award can be recalculated.

Tax credits is always initially based on previous years income and cogito is right, if 1 child in family cut off point at approx 26k. You can still apply, if your 13/14 income is less than last year that may mean you are entitled, or may be after April next year depending on actual figures.