Tax credits - Am i correct??

[chocohead]

I was working 18 hours a week (well still do but on maternity) and have paid £70 a week childcare. I have never received any working tax credit, as reduction due to income was the same as entitlement.

Anyway my DD has now started the school nursery so i do not pay any childcare anymore. I have informed tax credit and now my child tax credits have gone down £100 per month.

I have looked at the website and it looks like the working tax credit is where help towards childcare costs should be but i have never got any so why the reduction ??

I know tax credits are overly complicated but just feel like its not fair to never have any idea where you stand !!

Do they know that you're on maternity leave? because the first £100 a week of maternity pay is disregarded for tax credit income purposes and without seeing all the figures on your award notice, I wouldn't be able to tell where the other reduction has come from.

Can you get to a welfare rights centre, or CAB for them to have a look?

Childcare tax credits is listed separately from WTC usually as the limit for claiming childcare is higher than the limit for WTC.

You last renewal notice should confirm if you were getting child care assistance.

You paid approx £300 per month childcare, and used to get 30% paid by Tax Credits. Now you pay £0 for child care, so you get £0 from tax credits. WTC is completely separate from Childcare credits on the breakdown.

Thanks everyone

Lou031205 - makes sense what your saying thankyou, on the HMRC site it doesn't say anything about childcare costs being in with child tax credit. Strange im sure it is overly complicated so you have no chance of knowing what you are actually entitled to and just have to take their word for it

Childcare costs aren't in with the Child Tax element, they are are in with the Working Tax element but listed as a separate item.

Chocohead - You can work it out yourself but it is tricky, even better is getting someone who specialises in welfare rights to have a look because will spot things you might not.

Basically if your annual income is less than £6420 and you work 16 hours a week or more then you'd get the full amount of child tax credit and working tax credit.

For every £1 over £6420, your working tax credit gets reduced by 39p until it's all gone, then they begin reducing your child tax credit until that hits the basic family premium of £545. You can keep that until your income hits £50,000 then it gets reduced at 6.67p for every pound over £50,000 you are.