Housing Benefit

[Sleepsleepsleep12]

Hi,

So this is a little complicated. Hopefully I can explain it all clearly enough.

So we have been in receipt of housing benefit since 2013. Last year my partner took the "plunge" and finally went self employed! We knew the money wouldn't be as good as his employed job so I also became self employed to make up the money.

Now I called tax credits sorted the whole claim over the phone. A few days later I received a housing benefit re-calculation. The tax credits lady Did say they pass all info onto housing benefit so not to worry unless I don't get any correspondence from them.

Now I am 38wks pregnant with number two and just received a HB calculation stating that our entitlement is £0 because I'm
Now in receipt of state maternity. At first I looked in detail at the award notice and thought oh they've still included my wages
As well as state maternity, so I called them up.

Only to be told! They had no idea I was working at all or that my partner was self employed!!! They now need two months bank statements, a self employed form for us, accounts (unaudited I assume is okay
As we are both doing self assessment tax returns) p60/p45 etc!
The amount they had us down as earning per week is about right for both of us, so if there is an overpayment it's little! Maybe £10 per week, so no more than £550 (roughly) for the year!

Now I genuinely thought they got everything from tax credits! This year for tax credit renewal I did a few weeks ago HB
Gave me a re-calculation before I have
Even got a letter from tax credits to
Say what our award was.

The woman on the phone was really rude too!! Then I've started reading stories here...I'm pretty sure they give you around a month to notify of any change but this has been 1 year!!!

Will they try and penalise me? I'm gathering all the info they want over the next few days...what's the likely hood they will just re-calculate and that be that?

Or will they want to trawl through all our accounts from 2013?! I'm really really worried! I couldn't sleep for feeling anxious about it last night!!

This is a genuine mistake on my behalf!

Thanks in advance

HMRC have never told my local authority about my tax credits apart from telling them that there has been a change. Its up to me to show them what the change is.

Im not sure if there is a standard rule on what the outcome will be. Just provide them with everything that they ask, cross your fingers and hope they only make you pay back the overpayment.

Sorry i cant be more helpful.

Thank you!

I suppose I just took what the tax credits lady said as gospel. I should have checked it.

However it amazes me that on the phone yesterday she knew how many bank accounts we had and with what branch, how much all our tax credits were and how much my state maternity payment per week is. Yet they say they do not know the income from tax credits!

Even though they have re-calculated our claim with info from tax credits before I have even heard from tax credits myself!

It's all so confusing!

Thanks for your message!

Tax credits only tell the local authority how much tax credits you have been awarded and if the award stop or starts. They won't tell the authority you income.

If you provide all the information they have requested and there doesn't appear to be any reason the info the authority held before you start self employment was wrong then I can't see that they would look any further back.
If the p60s you provide don't tally with the wages they were holing they may ask for more info.
If once they have recalculated your hb you still have an entitlement then any overpayment will be recovered from your ongoing hb

Tax credit info local authorities of award amount electronically. Same with dwp benefits like maternity allowance, job seekers etc. You would have been asked to provide bank statements for all accounts when you first claimed.

Thank you!

I did do all payslips/bank statements etc etc when we first claimed and everything stayed the same until my partner and I both went self employed in May 2015.

I have accounts too which I will also submit along with the forms they are sending out too.

Thanks agin