Free School Meals

zeryx

You only qualify for free school meals if you are working UNDER 16 hours a week which means you are not entitled to WTC.

irs101

For those mentioning the IR website being incorrect, it isn't. It's just that it does something very particular - although admittedly IR don't make this very clear.

It calculates your entitlement from today until the end of the year, as if you only became entitled today and assuming that your situation will stay the same until the end of the year. This will often work out as less than your actual entitlement because it doesn't take into account that your award can be backdated for 3 months (if you were entitled for the last 3 months that is).

Compare this to the entitledto site which calculates entitlement for the current year as if you applied at the beginning of the year.

So while the IR site might not do what you expect it to do, I can vouch for its accuracy.

irs

Poppy9

So how come when I entered my details at the beginning of April for the new tax year it got it wrong by £250?

Edinburghlass_2

As my daughter's school has just gone onto a credit card type system for school meals I looked into free school meals but as I claim WTC am not entitled to them, although my annual income is nothing like as high as the figures mentioned.

The card scheme though is great for this sort of thing as the free school meal entitlement is placed on the kids' cards at the beginning of the week and no-one need know that its not cash that the parents have put on the card.

Fortunately though I can claim free scripts, eye test and an amount towards specs.

zeryx

Poppy9 wrote:

So how come when I entered my details at the beginning of April for the new tax year it got it wrong by £250?

If you did this on the website you have to remember that the website is only giving you an estimate of the entitlement. Nothing is actual until the award has been processed.

irs101

So how come when I entered my details at the beginning of April for the new tax year it got it wrong by £250?

Impossible to say - and that does seem strange when you say above that you are only entitled to the family element. But you'll just have to take my word for it that it's accurate if you put the right information in and you aren't affected by circumstances that it doesn't account for (backdating, changes in circumstances, etc.)

Poppy9

I know the info put in was correct as it was very little change to previous year and I had a letter shortly after confirming my details and giving the correct award. Others in work have found similar issues with the site. Also huge pain getting a log on to the site now. You have to wait for security numbers and passwords to be sent in the post to you. Quicker to fill in form when you have the urge to do the job

I also had a problem a few years back when I wound up a business. I had been on self assessment since it started and prior to that I was on the old system for tax returns. I filled in the form correctly following the notes of guidance for the termination of a business and I had calculated my tax due. They sent me a bill for 10x that. When I rung the chap I spoke to told me that I had put the wrong turnover figure in (too long a period) so they had amended it. I pointed out that I had to per the notes of guidance etc. He wouldn't listen and told me if I persued it then he would arrange a full tax audit going back 6 years which would cost me even more money. He didn't seem to understand that different rules were applicable if your business had transferred onto self assessment when it was introduced. He then hung up on me A week later I had a recalculated bill which matched what I had originally calculated.

izzy

oops. sorry , didn't mean to press "thanks". just wanted to say how so many people seem able to use the system and so many others who really need it can't get the help they need - it doesn't seem fair. common sense doesn't apply does it.

calmspirit

I agree with OP , it does seem unfair that by working and claiming WTC and in effect living on less than the amount specified to get free school meals, you are not entitled.

My friend earns a lot more than me (with her husband ) and so is not entitled to WTC but does get some CTC, she gets free school meals............the answer.......from my MP was that the cost of feeding our kids lunch throughout the year is apparently included in WTC thats why we dont get free school meals !

And its not cheap to pay for school meals for 2 kids each week, I have had CAB do benefits check and I would indeed be better off not working.........but i cant set my kids that example.

Spendless

calmspirit wrote:

I agree with OP , it does seem unfair that by working and claiming WTC and in effect living on less than the amount specified to get free school meals, you are not entitled.

My friend earns a lot more than me (with her husband ) and so is not entitled to WTC but does get some CTC, she gets free school meals............the answer.......from my MP was that the cost of feeding our kids lunch throughout the year is apparently included in WTC thats why we dont get free school meals !

And its not cheap to pay for school meals for 2 kids each week, I have had CAB do benefits check and I would indeed be better off not working.........but i cant set my kids that example.

I don't really understand why your friend is getting free school meals when both her and her hubby are working.Are they working less than 16 hours?