tax credits & childcare

[monkeys2]

i recently got my renewal in and it stated i was paying 159 a week on childcare i am only paying £115 a week, this amoount was when my childminder was sick for a month and i had to pay the nursery for both, i forgot to change it back so when i read this it reminded me to tell them, however i have now received a letter asking me to prove what i paid and contracts for both providers this is fine but will cover me for £115 i know i will have to repay some- my fault i am just wondering do they takewhole amount and how do they take it - i cant afford no ctc thats all but happy to pay back. please help plus i'm getting 80% help with chilcare costs. thanks

I think that they would make deductions from your payments, so that you are, in effect, repaying in installments. I think they'll calculate what you should be paid for the year, deduct what they've overpaid you, then divide by time remaining on this payment year.

You may find that, even though the amounts are different, it doesn't change your entitlement very much. The awards are banded rather than on a strict £ for £ basis. Run the numbers through an online tax credit calculator like this one and see the result for £159/week vs £115/week.