Tax credit rebate LOOK - those of us with children born before April 2003 may be entitled to some money!!

[TheMoistWorldOfSquelchedBrains]

Someone at work told me about this. Couldn't believe it at first, but she has called the HMRC & apparently it's right.

Before Child Tax Credits & Working Tax Credit, there was something called Children's tax credit. The Inland Revenue didn't publicise this, so very few people claimed it. Looks like if you were working, and your child was a baby during 2001 - April 2003 you can claim £1049, or £500 or so if you had an older child.

There isn't an awful lot of info on the HMRC site about this (understandably I guess), but you need to go there to downlaod the application form 11CTC
Apparently you can make claims until the end of Jan 2009 and then no more.

The site taxcredits.org seems to explain it all quite well, but beware they are sharks who want to charge you for making the claim on your behalf, when on the face of it, it seems quite simple to complete the HMRC form.

You need your p60 / tax code for the year in question.

As I say, I don't know much about this, and it does almost seem too good to be true, so if anyone else has any info please let us know.

Potentially exciting though, no?

Have only just found out about this and phoned my local tax office, looks like we can claim although my dh is away until end of feb with work. All his tax codes end in L.

I was unsure where to send, as my tax office is Edinburgh & dh's is Cardiff.

I phoned my local tax office 3 times and they told 3 different addresses.

In the end I have sent copies to all 3 by recorded.

Don't want to miss out on the deadline. Knowing my luck, i'll get 3 different cheques then go to prison for fraud

Thanks catweazle

I had a letter back from Inland Revenue saying:

Thank you for asking us to recalculate your taxed for the financial year 02/03, you've already had the childrens tax credit but we have calculated that you actually now owe us £273.

Or words to that effect

Wish I'd never sent the farkin form in now

Oh bummer TMB...

Sorry - just to clarify...

the Childrens tax credit effectively raised the amount you could earn before paying tax to £10490 (if you had a baby that year)? So you should only pay tax on what you earn over that?

Im sooo confused now

My tax code was L that year aswell btw but apparantly I have had it!

Is this payment based on your wages. If your earnings are say in the higger tax band then will payment be less/ non existent?

bu,mp
time is ticking away

yes if in higher tax band it is different but not sure how

Roll on the 31st. What a waste of taxpayers money this little exercise has been

I'm amazed how many people on this thread have had a refund. IME most people have already had it or aren't entitled.

er.....

Yes taxbabe - how dare people claim for a tax allowance they were ENTITLED to but which wasn't publicised.

um, clearly a lot of people HADN'T already had it or WERE entitled to it.
Correct me if I'm wrong (it is early) but isn't one of the criteria to be eligible to claim that we had to have been working in the relevant years, and hence paying tax? Therefore you are saying WE, as taxpayers, are wasting OUR money by claiming what WE are entitlted to?

Well the waste of money comes from the fact that the vast majority of these claims are not valid.

For something that wasn't publicised at the time (and that is complete rubbish) how come so many people did claim it?

Of the people who didn't claim it, either their partner did, they didn't pay any tax, or they earned far too much money to be eligible.
So an awful lot of taxpayers are wasting their- and everyone else's money- by claiming something they have already had or aren't entitled to.

Just co,ming back to this thread...

In the post this morning were two cheques: one to me, one to dh - each for £601.44!!! We got the baby rate plus interest for ayment after 31st January 2009

Thanks sooooooooooooooo much OP!!!

yay, well done popsycal. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I hear something having applied the second week in January. I'm abroad for a while at the moment but my neighbour emailed me yesterday and said there were a few letters which looked like they may have been ref tax credit/benefits so I'm just waiting for them to be forwarded with my fingers crossed!

Just received my cheque for full amount(half baby element) plus interest as paid after 31st January 2009 . Oddly enough I know DH received the entitlement in 2003 but obviously only for half the baby element (DS born March 2003)so worth claiminng as I had obviously not been paid it.

Nice to hear some people have had their money.

I have claimed but not heard a thing. I claimed for Ds born Dec 02, but made a single not joint claim as i'm no longer with Ds's dad and he was the one earning not me.

The way I read it, it said that I could claim for half, so should I get just over £500 then ??

I've just had a horrible thought. Maybe DH got the full baby element and now as I have claimed half they will take it off him. I think he only got £529 but no way of knowing and don't want to stir up a hornet's nest by asking tax office. But Crackernut I would think you should get £500 in any event.

Thanks, it would be truley fab if I ndid get it, although I did feel slightly guilty applying for it as I wasn't working at the time, xp was.

I didn't send mine off until the last couple of weeks of Jan, so I suppose I will have quite a wait to hear yet.

Oh that's great that some of you have received some money. Fingers crossed we do too.

If we don't qualify will we get a letter informing us of this do you think?

Tequila we got letter saying we had already had it , was dissapointed but now realise that was quite lucky