Tax Credits Calculator

something_girl

Can anyone give me a link to a reliable calculator.

The one I tried http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/asp/calculator/
gives a far more generous prediction than some others, obviously I hope this one is correct!

Thanks

something_girl

hmmm the difference between the workingfamilies one and the HMRC one is about £2k with the exact same information being entered

timnicebutdim_2

take it you've tried: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ ??

something_girl

hi, yeh, that was the same as the workingfamilies one, ie the £2k extra... wonder why the HMRC one is £2k less (unfortunately that is bound to be the correct one)

timnicebutdim_2

that's interesting as i don't trust the figures a lot of the time.... I've heard on this forum before that the amounts on some calculators are based on the remainder of the tax year (i.e. pro rata), not sure if that would make up the £2k difference though...

something_girl

actually that's a good point, I hadn't looked to see if it said pro-rata. Let's hope it is! I always find it amazing that tax credits don't take into account any maintenance that is received, wonder why all other benefits are means tested and this one is not. I'm very glad it's not, but still strange.

astralbee

something_girl wrote: »

I always find it amazing that tax credits don't take into account any maintenance that is received, wonder why all other benefits are means tested and this one is not. I'm very glad it's not, but still strange.

Tax Credits were introduced when Labour came into power and were driven by a political agenda: Reduce the number of people on social security benefits by taking a social security benefit that millions of people were receiving (Family Credit) and ordering the Inland Revenue to administer it instead of the Benefits Agency.

It IS a lot more generous than its predecessor because they also wanted to keep target Labour voters happy. The maintenance disregard was because at the time TC was launched, claimants were unhappy about the links to Child Support Agency when they claimed benefit, so they just dropped it.

On the subject of calculators, I have just made my first claim for Tax Credits and when I spoke to the Helpline they told me that the calculator on the Inland Revenue's own site was rubbish, and quoted me a completely different figure. I don't have any faith in the Helpline advice, so I am just waiting to see my assessment.

Benefit calculators that assess all benefits together are usually wrong, because the way benefits knock on each other can change. Also they usually attempt to assess your Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit which are local council administered. Getting a computer to reconcile national schemes and local schemes just doesnt work. And the tax credit calculator is only any use if you have really simple finances, ie you have income from employment and no other sources of income.

Hope this helps!

D

something_girl

Thanks for that, my claim is simple, just income from employment, no other benefits claimed. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what I am awarded, to be honest, I am amazed that the country is surviving with the amount of benefits that are being paid out.

caleo

Hi

The HMRC tax calculator will give you your figure from todays date so 15 July - 6 April, so will be less than the total you get on entitledto.com.

The other sites give you the figures for the whole tax year.

I find entitledto.com gives me slightly more than HMRC, but not a massive amount.

HTH
Caleo

astralbee

something_girl wrote: »

Thanks for that, my claim is simple, just income from employment, no other benefits claimed. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what I am awarded, to be honest, I am amazed that the country is surviving with the amount of benefits that are being paid out.

Well, it takes a civil servant on around £12K to open your mail, another earning the same to enter your claim into the computer, and then a slightky senior member of staff on around £17K to process it. 9 years ago under Family Credit you had to apply every 26 weeks. Now, renewals are once per year. What they are dishing out in extra 'benefit' they are saving on processing costs. Also, doing away with post-office order books has saved a fortune on printing.

One more thing - the calculator on Inland Revenues website doesnt let you put in future dates, ie if you are expecting a child and want a quote then you have to put in an imaginary birth date from the past. This can screw up the quote if you use dates that might put your claim prior to the annual rise each April.

D. :rotfl: