I've made such a big TC mistake and now I've got myself sick with worry please help

[olaflikeswarmhugs]

When I got my annual renewal form they already had DHs income and it has went up significantly from previous year . I went on to see if I could renew online and it asked if I had the codes "TC603D" or "TC603D2" but my code is "TC603R"

So I googled the code . And I got to a HMRC Page that kept saying "mismatched claim" and "bad claim" .

I'm in such a state here am I going to be prosecuted ? I didn't think we would have earned that much more because, even though his income did go up , I was on Mat leave until July last year and when I went back to work I reduced my hours so I thought it would have balanced itself out.

I'm worried sick what should I do ?

If you've been overpaid they'll probably just deduct it weekly from this years tax credits, I think they are open till 8 so give them a call. It'll stop you worrying all weekend.

I have the dcs here and I'm on my own so I can't phone them just now and I think they are closed on a Sunday . I nearly fainted when I saw how much Dh had earned I genuinely didn't . I think its because he went from a salary to an hourly rate . It said you have to inform them if your income goes up by more than £5000 and I think ours has by a few hundred £ .

Don't worry, because of a mix up at the tax office, tax credits think ive earned more than 9000 extra I haven't but ive got to wait for my renewal form to come through before I can sort it out (1st one got lost in the post)

All they've done is reduced the amount of tax credits I'm getting to cover the imagined overpayment. The woman at the tax credits office was lovely and there was no mention of prosecution.

They are open tomorrow as well.

I meant there it has gone up buy £5k and a couple hundred . Like its £5200 more than previous year . Sorry I can't type properly my mind is racing here

You are not going to be prosecuted.

Just tell them your husbands earnings have gone up signifcantly. Put it in writing if they ask you to. They will reclaim it. Just make sure you have the money ready.

Tax is all about declaring things on time and as soon as you beocme aware of them. Then paying what you owe.

this is the page I got from google

It also says you can be fined up to £3000 . Google is supposed to help I need to ban myself from the internet

Please please please don't worry, tax credits don't work on cut off points but gradually reduce as your income goes up (hope that makes sense)

Even IF you have a repayment to make they can do it over years if need be and I can pretty much guarantee that you will not be prosecuted!! Tax credits rarely do this even for people who have claimed thousands falsely.

Give them a phone ASAP to put your mind at rest then relax and have a glass of wine.

Ok thank you all I feel a bit better now I will phone them tomorrow before Dh goes to work .

I'm going back to uni in September so I will go to zero income . So even if we do owe quite a bit my lack of income should hopefully mean we are entitled to an ok amount and they can take it out of that .

Thank you all again maybe the internet is not so bad after all

We were overpaid by about £1600 a couple of years ago. All they do is reduce your future tax credits payments by 25% to pay it back. Really don't worry about it, it happens to loads of people all the time. You will not be prosecuted I promise!

Thanks . I think the thing that first startled me was the fact they stopped my payments before I have even renewed . My payments went down from £50 per week to £10 per week beginning the week they sent me my renewal form plus they already knew my husbands income which I found strange .

Hi, don't know if this will help or put your mind at rest. Most companies are terrible at calculating maternity pay unless they're huge and doing it all the time. I'm a HR advisor and what I will say is that your employer can not put you in a position of financial hardship so you need to be as open as you can with them. If you have been overpaid then you need to discuss with them what you can reasonably pay back, ie the when and how much etc itsdefinatley worth looking at childcare vouchers too if your workplace has that scheme. If you want me to tell you more or want any more employment advice just inbox me x

Are you sure your code is TC630R as this is the reference code on my instruction page, I have TC630D on the form you have to fill in. I'm all renewed online now, just waiting to find out the result as my incomes gone up too.

Please don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. If your income has gone up by £5200 you will have been overpaid by about £82. The first £5000 is ignored for last year. Your award for this year will be adjusted to take into account the increased income and the overpayment will be taken back from your new payments.

People's incomes change all the time - they expect that which is why you renew every year.

Thank you so much everyone I really appreciate how much you have put my mind at ease ! I tried phoning the other day but the queue was too long I gave up .

Mrsmini can I just ask quickly if that is the case why have they already put my payments down so much before I've even renewed ?

Because they have taken your dh's new income into account for the current tax year. For every £1 you earn your tax credits are reduced by 41p. £5000 x 0.41 = £2050. This is the amount your award will have been reduced by. Divide this by 52.15 (number of weeks per year) reduces your payments by about £40 per week. They may not have taken your overpayment into account yet, but it should only reduce it further by an extra pound or two.

Aaaaah ok thank you soooo much !!!

Do you work for HMRC ?

Nope. I'm just a tax credits geek Sadly I probably understand it better than many of their helpline advisors. I won a case at tribunal a few years ago because they don't understand their own rules!

Good for you ! I'm so glad your a MNer

Can I pm you I have a few other questions about when I go to uni ?

Sure, feel free. I'll help if I can, although it may be a few days before I get back to you as I've got a busy few days coming up at work.

The different codes are for different forms, a TC603D is the declaration (the form that you have to complete) a TC603R is an auto renewal, the type where you just have to check the details are correct and notify them if not.