I am sat on the phone to WFTC at the moment bloody fuming angry !!!!

[flutterbee]

I am sat on hold at the moment waiting to speak wit a supervisor, I have just been told that if you earn over £22,000 (joint income) then you will get no help with childcare, I have also been told that they take into account last years earnings when calculating so if I earnt nothing last year I would get more help for childcare this year, but if I earnt loads last year and not much this year I would get less help.

This makes no bloody sense to me, I have asked to see that confirmed in writing but they have just come back to me and told me that they can't find it in writing anywhere, which in itself can't be right.

I'm soooooo pissed off and still waiting.

It's always been based on previous year's earnings...

i rang them this morning.. we earn more than that and they told me as we both work more than 16 hrs we would get help to pay child care... not full 70% but something. they don't know their chuffings arses from their idle elbows

No no I know that, what they are trying to tell me is that if I was a millionaire last finacial year and poor the next financial year the amount of help I would get with child care costs would be less than every other poor person because last financial year I was a millionare

Working Tax Credit is separate from Child Tax Credit. Working Tax Credit tops out at around £14,500/annum joint income. It is Child Tax Credit that helps you w/childcare expenses. And yes, it is also means tested.

But when you get hold of a live person - good luck! - FIRST thing, write down their name! Second, write down the time they picked up and spoke to you.

Then tell them you have an issue w/your Child Tax Credit, b/c at £22,000/annum you won't be getting Working Tax Credit.

I thought it went down incrementally?

They're useless. I was told to declare my student income (grant) but didn't as it was just ()as in about £3.20) wiothn upper linit- found out after they had advised me wrong, so we were £2,500 within limit and dh could have done some self employed work without me banging on it wouls cost us more than he could make.

YYYYEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH I was right alllllll along his manager has just apologised to me and said she will have a word with him so he doesn't tell other people the same thing.

Thanks for the advise expat I worked as a civil servant for 4 years and know exactly how bad they can all be so all names dates times and brief outlines of calls have been logged incase I needed to contact my MP

The manager assured me that when my circs change in the new tax year last years details will not be taken into account (not even if I was a millionaire I wish) and if dh and I earn about £28k then we will still get a decent amount each week towards childcare.

I'm off now to do my "Iknew I was right/I told you so dance"

Does anyone know if there is a tax credit 'calculator' anywhere on the net? I've looked but can't find anything but links back to the Inland Revenue site (but it's been shut down due to all that fraud). I would like to consider how much I should be getting at various amounts of income/childcare to see if it;s worth cutting my hours after mat leave. What a nightmare! Don't mention the £2K I owe them (from 2003!!) I have to pay it back all in one go(or plead hardship) despite having 3 kids and a new baby, apparently I have to make a new claim with dp and they don't want to penalise him (?) for my debt! (he wasn't on the old claim for my ex-h's kids) I do hope he visits me in prison when I can't pay!

Rach look on the thread somone has going at t mo about babysitting her grabdchild someone has posted a link on there to help people work out what they are entitled too.

I couldn't find the inland revenues calculator either because of the site being down.

Look at entitledto.co uk

Thanks so much for that Tinker - the website gives me all the info I need (and you, Flutterbee?) Depressingly not as much as I thought though :(

poop, it says i earn too much..think i've done it wrong