Boyfriend moving in - tax credits

[treehouse21]

Hi everyone

Can someone help - my boyfriend is moving in for Xmas - we've been together 4 yrs and now feel the right time

I have a little one from previous relationship, she's 7 and they love each other and we are more than ready

Anyway I claim working and child tax credits and of course I will be updating them - I've actually tried but they said I have to call back once he's in ! He's moving in 15th just because it works out financially where he had to give notice on his flat and he's booked moving van etc

Anyway my question is because I've claimed ( last 5 years or so ) would they make me pay back any previous payments ? I've read they can do but from I've not been financially dependent on him ( until when we live together) and also moving forward he earns a lot more money than I do so he won't be eligible for tax credits which is fine - we have done a calculation where we've agreed a 75-25 split which means I won't be worse off and he is saving money as only have one rent and bills if makes sense so that's all good

But anyway can I just cancel the claim? I didn't ask when I called as it threw me I couldn't update my claim when I knew the date ?!
Surely to stop any overpayment? I don't even need my next tax credit payment ? But now ok worried and reading up sometimes they make you pay it back?

Anyone had any experience of moving in with a boyfriend mid tax credits ?

Thanks for reading and appreciate any advice
X

How's it going to work with your lost money, once your boyfriend moves in?

If the year re benefit claims runs January to January which I think it does the overpayment would be very small if he is moving in on 15th December. But if your cancellation isn't processed and you do get payments after he moves in then those will need to be repaid I would imagine. Don't worry too much as long as you inform them it will be sorted out hopefully.,

So as he's agreed to generously split the rent and bills 75-25 so he will be paying a lot more than I do as he's on a much bigger salary so basically I won't feel any difference at all if that makes sense
He's paying a lot more to the pot than I am but then the tax credit I'm losing has been accounted for
Plus his ' contribution' is less than his flat rent and bills so it's a win win
I have an account where he will pay his bit into and I'm keeping my bank account and he is on his side so we have personal bills separate such as mobile etc
Food shop we kind of eat together anyway he stays at mine a lot and I was at his when lo at dads as weekend
But that said with lockdown and current situation I haven't been to his since March
X

@Viviennemary it runs tax year so April to March
So yeah fair enough If I owe the month payment that's fine as I won't be needing it theoretically
Not trying to get away with anything just want to do the right thing

Well I've tried updating them but as they say I need to call back on 16th dec which I will do

I've just read people have been asked to pay back since April for example
Which I don't feel is right and didn't know if someone had maybe moved in recently and can advice

X

Sorry yes runs the same as the tax year. I tried googling it but couldn't get whether you would need to pay back. I suppose it depends on whether they take your partner's income into consideration for the whole year or just from when he moves in. Hope you get it sorted. Surely it should be only from when he moves in.

You cannot turn a tax credit claim into a joint claim. You would need to make a joint claim for Universal credit and your single tax credit claim would end.

You have 30 days to report a change in circumstances. If you are sure you won't be entitled to anything then just cancel the claim. I've done this twice in the last decade there didn't appear to be any consequence

@Viviennemary Thai you for helping neither could I - would hope they wouldn't ask me to pay back but it's strange can't find a definite answer

@nevernotstruggling thanks ok will do that just as I say have read posts about people paying back thousands!

I'll guess I'll just have to call on 16th say I want to cancel and let them decide!

I'm aware I can't turn a claim into a joint
I dont want to I just want to cancel but my question is wether they take his earnings into consideration from the whole tax year

X

If you can't cancel the claim and they keep paying you just put that money to one side to put towards repayment.

If you are asked to repay it takes months and months for them to calculate it and work it out and then you can set up terms to pay anything back for this year based on what you can afford. I did £100 a month but you can do a lot less if needed. So again you could always put a little aside incase they come to you.

I understand where you are coming from i was stressed for months waiting to know how much they would want back and by when.

Good idea but I wouldn't mind paying back money from when he moves in if I'm still getting it I'm more concerned if they look at April to now or to next April if that makes sense

Like you say I'll put it aside if that happens

I did that when I was getting overpaid once and I called up and they said it's right what they are paying me - it was almost double! Then months later I got a letter saying I was being over paid 🙄I went through a dispute and got it sorted but it was so stressful at the time and they got the overpayment wrong by thousands so goes to show if you aren't switched on I could have just ended up paying but I knew it was wrong...they said appeals are hardly ever won, and guess what I won....

Since then I have a very sceptical opinion that they do get things wrong sometimes
Clearly in my case
And their letters were awful
Threatening with bailiffs and stopping payments all turning out to be a clerical error!

( they said I owed 6k it wasn't it was £1500 in the end so equivalent of 3 months overpayment 🙄)

So yes if I can cancel great but just can't get a definitive answer

Never mind will update them once he moves in and see what they say

Thanks peeps

I'm no expert but I think once you cancel, if you needed help in the future you would have to move on to UC. Also, what if he doesn't pay one month or more? Can you afford to cover him? If he gets made redundant for example. Or moves out again? It's safer to make sure your wage is enough that you don't need to claim in that case, easier said than done, though

They would only take his income into account from the day he moved in and as you are cancelling your claim, it should have no effect.

You may owe money on your claim due to their stupid way of calculating and making payments but not because your boyfriend moved in. Let them know the date he moved in and have them cancel the claim from that date.

Everything before that date was calculated for yourself on your own income and circumstances, so apart from their common mistakes, you should be okay.

Definitely cancel the claim completely. Don't amend it to a joint claim or give any information on you BFs income. That way the claim for this year which runs April to April should be worked out pro rata to the date you cancel it. If the claim is still active and your BF is a high earner they will take his wages from the date he moves in until April as household income, and you may find you've been overpaid for the year.

@yesterdaystotalsteps123 you're right I would need to claim uc but it's unlikely any of that will happen, my boyfriend is financially secure and is self employed so no danger of being redundant
Those are what if situations and I'll cross that bridge when it comes to it
X

@flirtygirl thanks that to me makes perfect sense and I hope that's it

My boyfriend earns too much for us to qualify for help so I'll just say I'm cancelling my claim and won't give his details as like you say it's pro rata so as long as I'm not claiming any more then there shouldn't be an over payment

Thanks everyone x

PP's are correct. You need to close your TC claim, and you will have to claim UC instead.

You can check your UC entitlement using one of the online calculators, eg turn2us or entitledto ,

Thanks, I won't be eligible because of partners wage but thank you x

Hey there I m in the same situation what was your outcome ? Xx

Him moving in is a change in circumstances which would automatically end the claim (a joint claim is separate/different to a single claim).

Your claim will then be for a defined period (6 Apr 21 - 15 Dec 21) and prorated on that basis.
It will be based on your income for the tax year (but prorated down), it won't be anything to do with his income.

By the prorated bit I am pretty sure from claims I've ended and started that the calculation is:

Work out TC entitlement for the entire tax year based on your entitlement through the year and your income.
Pro-rata the entitlement for the number of days you are entitled.

Thank you
Basically my boyfriend moving in on 1st jan 2021 and he’s financially stable so I won’t need claim anymore
When should I ring them and tell them? And what do they ask and need ? X

If he moved in 1 Jan 2021 you are already very late telling them (you should do so within 30 days) and you've presumably done your renewal since?

I'd ring them up and tell them and see what they say, but based on the above you'll probably have received an overpayment.

So say single claim is cancelled on 16/12 but payments continue until joint claim comes into affect and it takes 4 weeks.. You will have been overpaid by 4 weeks.. You will have or repay 4 weeks of your money.

Why would single claim payments continue when the claim has been cancelled?

You couldn't start a new joint TC claim now, it would be UC.

Because you still get money while new claim is being processed.. Ime.
So single tax credit while awaiting joint uc claim. If no joint claim going in then I imagine single claim money will stop immediately..