Working Tax Credits this time....

[flamesparrow]

Me with the questions!!!

I don't understand what you have to be earning below to qualify! I've looked on the various websites and they list all the criteria for how many hours you work etc, but not the earnings cut off point... any ideas?

If no-one knows, if you fancy sharing your annual income, and if you get wtc, that'd help us all work it out

Wow, Linnet. I had no idea that was true. My SMP is 90% of my monthly wage for 6 months. As I am the only wage earner, this will significantly lower our income. The baby is due in December. Of course, when we had DD, their computer system wasn't accepting live births before the renewal period. How daft is that? For folks claiming CTC!

I'm sick of getting stacks of award notices, no two w/the same amount on them. FFS!

I'm trying hard to get a job where we just don't qualify for them at all b/c I'll be glad to see the back of them, TBH.

Expat, I got SMP plus 90% pay for 6 months as that is what my company pay for maternity leave. It was the SMP that I had to deduct so 26 weeks at £100 meant I got to deduct £2600 from my annual income, plus the £200 Paternity pay that Dh got. So it lowered our income quite a bit.

I didn't know that you were supposed to do this I only found out because I read through the notes when I was filling in the annual review form. I don't usually bother to read the notes, naughty me, as I usually just write in the figures from our P60's but this time I did, then I phoned to check and just did the renewal over the phone.

I think you can only deduct the SMP that you receive during a tax year, I was lucky because dd2 was born in May and I went back to work in December so all my SMP was paid in one tax year. I guess if it covers two tax years you only get to deduct a percentage.

I do worry though that come next year at the renewal they will say well because of the deducted money you only earned £xyz and now that you're back at work you've earned £abc, which is a difference of £jkl therefore we overpaid you last year and now you get nothing and have to pay back this amount.

I know what you mean about finding another job, I dream of winning the lottery so I can phone them up and say with great pleasure that I don't need them anymore.

Doh, I got SMP plus 50% pay not 90%, gee that would have been good.

flamesparrow, "why can't they just say "How much is your annual wage?", and "You must update us IMMEDIATELY if it changes" like all other benefits???". If you read the notes you'll find that is exactly what it does say....

yes there have been huge problems with this system, but would you rather get nothing?! Nobody is forcing you to claim. I really appreciate the little we are entitled to and it does make a difference. Although a better system would be to make the tax allowances a realistic amount so that people on low to middle income didn't actually pay any tax. I found DHs payslips from 1983 and the allowances accounted for almost 2/3s of his pay. It's a shame they haven't kept pace with inflation.

I think it's time the Govt started a public information service to explain to people how the various systems work because it's clear from comments on this and other threads that ordinary people don't have a clue.

Like "why do the inland revenue not know how much you are earning??? Hello they take the tax every month!!? Its really strange." No they don't !!!! Your employer takes your tax every month and sends it to the IR, but the breakdown of who has paid what doesn't get sent until after the end of the tax year. The IR does not "know' what your income is until at least June. This year it's late because of computer problems (because the Govt won't spend money on a system that works and won't let people who actually do the work design the systems) so they won't know until at least July.

Similarly your employer does not notify the IR of your new address, or change of name- that's your job.

As for the original question, the cut off point for WTC is quite low. I will check it & get back but the online service is down for maintenance today.

Dp earns £14500 and we get £8 a week WTC and then CTC too.

No - you don't HAVE to update them immediately. And when I TRIED to give them DH's current earnings for my annual review, they told me that they didn't want them, and wanted the P60 numbers.

When I rang in April to say our money had gone up they took the details for this years claim immediately, but weren't able to finalise last year's at that point. All other changes they have taken from me straight away.

Maybe I just get morons on the phone

Yes, Tallulah I think you have been very lucky indeed! No matter how many calls I have made to them with change of details it takes months and months before anything can happen. And when we called to change the bank the money got paid into our WFTC was stopped for 3 months due to 'computer error' I only thank god we had just moved house and had a tiny bit of money left over.

Also, your tax comes out of your payslip every month and goes somewhere - - where?? Into the ether? Surely the IR recieves it every month and not just once a year? Or does your employer keep hold of it all and pay it over annually? I don't think so...so why don't they know how much they have recieved?

I can't believe the IR just gets a huge lump sum from each company but doesn't know who has actually paid til the end of the tax year. This sounds a very odd system.

The worse thing (sorry to bang on about it) is that on their old system if there was a mistake on the computer then someone (a supervisor?? do they exist?) could override it - but this seems an impossibility with the IR system.

Even better, on the old family credit system I had a named person who was responsible for my claim and who I could call directly with updates or mistakes & who phoned me if they ever needed any info. How I long for those days

Starry
Same here! For some reason, they had DH as being on JSA. Um, no. He's never applied for or received JSA in his life. After numerous phone calls, it was STILL there. I sent them a registered letter to get it changed.

Each month, your employer takes your tax and NI off your salary and pays it over as one lump sum for all its employees to the IR. The IR do not know what each individual employee is earning or how much tax they have paid until after the tax year end, usually during May when you receive your P60. Only then do they know individual figures. They will only know during the year if you happen to change job, because they will get a copy of your P45 (not that they seem to do much with it).

starry- the Govt don't want named people dealing with anything. They want large impersonal processing centres where everyone does one little bit of something, instead of one person taking responsibility for all aspects. No-one likes it, but then the Govt doesn't seem to be at all interested in public opinion.

No change there then Tallulah !!

been reading that the goverment are calling for any overpayment to be scrapped, what about us that have already paid back about £800???

would be nice if they scrapped overpayments even nicer if the system actually helped working families, we are no better off at all,

I want to reduce my hours to p/t as I feel I miss out on so much of my boys upbringing but simply cant afford to

I have never recieved working tax credit. We are £19k

Called and updated em today, so I guess I'll see if I'm pushed over then

Quick question- do I have to inform them if I have recieved payrise(small one) or do I leave it till end of year? At moment I get family tax credit.

It should tell you on your original award notice how big a pay rise you can get before you have to inform them.
I think it is normally in the the region of £2000 pa but might vary depending on how much your tax credits are.

Thanks, will check.