Question about tax credits - filling in the form

kei_2

People underestimating there income is probably the biggest reason why people are overpayed.

hayley11

kei wrote: »

People underestimating there income is probably the biggest reason why people are overpayed.

Er yeah that's quite obvious really Sorry not being funny but it just seems quite a pointless post IMO.

And if that was intended for me, i'm not underestimating at all, i'm overestimating if anything because I wasn't on a full wage the whole time I was at the job I have mentioned above.

hayley11

Just a little update...I've just found my P45 so I know the exact amount and I was £200 out! I thought it'd be around £6500 but it's actually £6720.75. Think I did quite well! Haven't put the form in the post yet so going to put a little note in to let them know

LizzieS_2

The estimate box is for self-employed, or those who complete very shortly after April. You do not have to do by form - can do over phone. I would ring them, go through your calculations and see if they already have the figures anyway.

[Deleted User]

LizzieS - the form needs to be done by post as it is a new joint claim - not an annual renewal.

The estimate box is not just for those who are self employed, it can be used by anyone who has an income.

kei_2

hayley11 wrote: »

Er yeah that's quite obvious really Sorry not being funny but it just seems quite a pointless post IMO.

And if that was intended for me, i'm not underestimating at all, i'm overestimating if anything because I wasn't on a full wage the whole time I was at the job I have mentioned above.

Pointless, fair enough.

They finalize the claim at the end of the financial year and anything you are owed due an overestimate of income is paid back in full at the end of the year when you declare your income.

Theoretically speaking now that you've found your p45.

Had you chose to put a income that was £200 less than actual not only would you have been slightly overpaid this year you're provisional payments next financial year (April 2009 until you declare your actual income) would be as well, these all add up onto a knock on effect and can slash your weekly/monthly payments next year by quite a lot with little or no notice at all.

Yes a overestimate of just £200 pounds can cause payments to go down 'lots' after the system has chucked out its 'one off' payments. I am lucky enough to not have to run my life on a strict budget but i would have thought if i was, i would be looking to keep bad surprises at a minimum - well i am assuming that anyone looking to claim benefits is on some sort of tighter budget and the pennies count.

I'm speaking from experience here as well, the amount of irate people I had to deal with in the past due to payments lowering massively with no notice is sadly not a rarity

hayley11

kei wrote: »

Pointless, fair enough.

They finalize the claim at the end of the financial year and anything you are owed due an overestimate of income is paid back in full at the end of the year when you declare your income.

Theoretically speaking now that you've found your p45.

Had you chose to put a income that was £200 less than actual not only would you have been slightly overpaid this year you're provisional payments next financial year (April 2009 until you declare your actual income) would be as well, these all add up onto a knock on effect and can slash your weekly/monthly payments next year by quite a lot with little or no notice at all.

Yes a overestimate of just £200 pounds can cause payments to go down 'lots' after the system has chucked out its 'one off' payments. I am lucky enough to not have to run my life on a strict budget but i would have thought if i was, i would be looking to keep bad surprises at a minimum - well i am assuming that anyone looking to claim benefits is on some sort of tighter budget and the pennies count.

I'm speaking from experience here as well, the amount of irate people I had to deal with in the past due to payments lowering massively with no notice is sadly not a rarity

I'm confused. You seem to have be having a go at me about underestimating my claim and the effects it has etc etc but I never said I was underestimating my claim. You haven't tried to help me with my question, in fact you just seem to be pointing out stuff that I don't need pointing out and having a pop at me

My original post clearly asked HOW I should work out what my total income was, because I couldn't find my P45, not whether I should underestimate or overestimate.

And IF I had left it £200 down, that is for my income for the LAST tax year anyway, not the one we are in now. And my income for this year is considerably less.

[Deleted User]

Hayley, stop getting so defensive. Nobody is having a pop at you, they are trying to help. There are a lot of people on the forum who work for TCO or have had a lot of experience in dealing with TCO.

You may not have asked questions about under/over-estimating your income but the advice was given to help you.

You are being advised to slightly over-estimate your current year income because unless you can predict the future you dont know if you might end up with a bit more income by the end of the tax year.

For example -
You could estimate to make £15,000 for the 08/09 tax year but receive a pay rise during the year and a little bonus in the new year which brings your total 08/09 income to £16,000.
The difference of £1000 would mean an overpayment of £390.

If you over-estimated your income a little as a safety measure you may not have had an overpayment. If you over-estimate your income and at the end of the year you declare your actual income that is lower than the estimate, TCO would owe you money and this would normally be paid back to you in a single lump sum.

If you only wanted to know how to work out your income fair enough - add up the gross pay on all payslips during 07/08 and deduct any pension contributions - but you seem to be able to have done this ok and now that you have found your P45 everything is fine.


HTH

hayley11

subsoniccoyote - I am not being defensive towards you or anybody apart from Kei, I appreciate you have all being trying to help and I am grateful.

With regards to over-estimating just in case, I appreicate what you're saying but I'm not going to do that because I work for the NHS and know exactly how much I am going to be paid and the job is a fixed term contract until the end of March, i'm definitely not getting any bonuses or payrises.

My boyfriend has actually just started a job today, so I will add a note in to let them know about that as well and I know his income wont be changing either.

I'm sorry if I came across as a narky moo, I apologise

kei_2

Shrug, water off a ducks back.

If you feel you know best, then go ahead and best of luck.