Help with tax credits

[Mumto1girl3boys]

Ive just logged on and saw that my renewal has been done automatically, payments significantly lower. I know tc is based on imcome from the previous year but the thing is my partner lost his job due to covid19 he does have a new job but the salary is ALOT less than his previous job. I have updated the estimated income for 20-21 are the payments likely to stay the same or will they be increased as he wont earn much this coming year?

The problem with the government increase is, they are so vague about it. All they are saying is that it should he applied by May 18th. We are in a time where renewals are taking place, so many peoples awards are due to be amended due to renewals. They are unable to tell you if your revised payments include to government increase or not. In fact when mine went down she couldn't tell me exactly why. She mentioned childcare being removed but there is noway £9 a week would make such a huge difference. I suppose we just have to wait for renewal pack to see what figures and allowances our award is based on

I’m still none the wiser as to what’s going on with mine, hoping the renewal can shed some light.

I put my figures into an online calculator so I had some idea what to expect, taking into account these are not completely accurate my online account is way out.

The calculator has always been pretty accurate for me so I know mine are wrong. I've learnt how to work them out too so I pretty much know the the penny what I should be getting. But I can only do this when I get my letter which tells me what my award is based on. My award initially is never based on my actual earnings but a higher amount that needs to be amended. Hence why when renewal takes place then reduce alot pending my pension contributions

When I logged in today my payments had stopped!! But I could renew, after not being able to for the last week or so. And the about 4 hours after I renewed I had an award notice show on my account, payments have gone down but I'm paying less childcare now I have free hours so I expected this

Oh and I had a "automatic renewal" message but it was more like "if you don't renew manually by 17th June it will do it automatically for you"

@GlummyMcGlummerson yes I had this today also payments had gone up as expected with a one off payment. I couldn't view the details though so I am hoping they send out in the post, although I think everything is correct

The thing is with tax credits it goes on the previous tax year for income.

I remember that if income then significantly drops, (as in with the virus) you need to then contact them and tell them.

So I'm guess what is happening is the amounts aren't going up, as it is being based on the previous tax year.

But then on top there is this general increase of 1K a year due to the virus, quite confusing.

Does that make sense? I have found their helpline or online chat helpful in the past.

I checked mine today
Self employed 2 kids single parent

I have a one off payment today as I over estimated my income in renewal last year, this is for the end of tax year

This years award is £150 pm more than usual!!!! Which means I'll prob end up paying for that next year 😬😱

I have no idea how much I'll earn this year

But prob about the same or a bit less

So I'll see what the renewal says when I get the letter through

I hate waiting for the letter and I’m worried that they haven’t updated mine yet! DP is self employed too so I’m also waiting for him to do his bloody accounts.

My tax credits have been hit again. Looks like they've automatically been renewed and my pack has been sent. Now for the ridiculously long wait for it to arrive in the post to be able to send them the correct details

Why is it that we can’t renew online?

We can. But you have to wait for your pack to arrive before you can report any changes. I'm wondering if it will be easier to calling to report my changes this time. Last year it didn't get finalised until September due to the way the system was auctioning the ones that didn't match their information

Ahh I see! In that case, mine is still saying my pick hasn’t been sent yet!! Looks like I’ll have a long old wait.

Yeh. Mine has changed today to say it's been automatically renewed but I can report changes when my pack arrives. I can get into the renewal now so looks like mine has been sent. But what I can never understand is how is takes weeks to arrive when normal post is considered lost in the time it takes to arrive

Mine have been automatically renewed and I got the letter today.
It has all my details that I would usually fill in regarding last year and just says if this is correct do nothing, if anything is incorrect then to let them know.

@AvoidingRealHumans may I ask, when were they renewed and how long did it take to get your letter? Mine were renewed yesterday so I imagine my pack will be issued soon. St last I hope it will. Last year it never arrived until the end of June. I have to provide them with amended figures so I know my renewal award amounts are wrong. But I need it sorted asap

I got a one off payment on the 21st and starting last Friday my payments had gone up (I get them weekly)

So I would assume that my renewal was done last week (just before one off payment)🤷🏼‍♀️
The renewal letter came today

Oh so not long really. I really hope it comes quickly then. The calculator has always been accurate for me so I should be getting £200 more than what I am getting now