Urgent Child Tax Credit help needed.

355marcus

I was recently told on the CTC helpline that i would be eligible to claim this. So i requested an application pack and set to work.
BUT!
My wife is currently working full time, I currently have to claim ESA because I am in treatment for a back injury that currently prevents me from working. The accident that caused it happenned at work and although liability was settled very early I was actually dismissed because I wont be able to do the job I was doing even once recovered.
Now the Helpline said that I would be eligible but once i started filling in my childs details it asks if im working 16+ hours a week which i'm not. There is no other applicable choices.
So I called the Hotline assuming im missing something.
And I am, 16 hours of work to make me eligible apparently!!!
So my question is this, firstly am I able to claim Child Tax Credits to help with my childcare costs? and if not is there anything I can claim in my current situation?
My situation currently sucks, although I am owed wages I cant get any compensation for their loss or for my injury until im fixed, or pronounced unfixable!!
So Help or Advice welcomed!!

fifilapew

As far as I know you can claim CHILD tax credits if your household income is less than £66,000 P/A, the minimum is £545 P/A (+ £545 for a child under 1 ) it will increase if you earn less than a certain amount ( I'm not sure what that threshold is sorry).

The 16 hour week applies to working tax credits as far as I am aware, so you may be confusing it with that.

Try calling the tax credits office on Monday, the number is on this website somewhere or go to the HMRC website.

Caz3121

WTC can be claimed if one party is working over 16 hour
childcare costs will be if both parties are working

GobbledyGook

Caz3121 wrote: »

WTC can be claimed if one party is working over 16 hour
childcare costs will be if both parties are working

Childcare costs can also be claimed for if one party is working and the other is classed as incapacitated for childcare purposes. There is a list of details on the tax credit site about what counts.

DX2

GobbledyGook wrote: »

Childcare costs can also be claimed for if one party is working and the other is classed as incapacitated for childcare purposes. There is a list of details on the tax credit site about what counts.

The childcare element of Working Tax Credit
You may be able to get extra help with the costs of registered or approved childcare. This is the childcare element of Working Tax Credit.
If you are a lone parent, you must be aged 16 or over and you must usually work at least 16 hours a week.
If you are in a couple, you must both be aged 16 or over and either:
• both of you must usually work at least 16 hours a week or

• one partner must usually work at least 16 hours a week and the other partner must be

1. — incapacitated or
2. — an in-patient in hospital or
3. — in prison (whether serving a custodial sentence or remanded in custody awaiting trial or sentence).

You are treated as incapacitated if you receive one of the following:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit at the short-term higher rate or long-term rate
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (with Constant Attendance Allowance for you)
• War Disablement Pension (with Constant Attendance Allowance for you)
• Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit with a Disability Premium or Higher Pensioner Premium for you
• a vehicle under the Invalid Vehicle Scheme or
  1. • contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you have received
  2. — this allowance for 28 weeks or more or
  3. — Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) followed by contribution-based ESA for a combined period of 28 weeks or more.

• [FONT=IR Modena,IR Modena][FONT=IR Modena,IR Modena]2 [/FONT]
  
  [/FONT]The 28 weeks doesn’t need to be a single continuous period. You can add together any periods that you received:
  • contribution-based ESA, as long as they were no more than 12 weeks apart
  • SSP, as long as they were no more than 8 weeks apart
  • SSP with periods that you received contribution-based ESA, as long as they were no more than 12 weeks apart and you met the contribution conditions for contribution-based ESA on the days that you received SSP.

355marcus

Now that's very interesting!!
It appears that I have the correct forms to fill in. It appears that according to DX2's post above that we DO satisfy the criteria for claiming but for some strange reason the form only gives the following choices:-
Q2.4. Put X in boxes that apply to this child.
a) You pay for registered or approved childcare while you work.
b) You receive Disability Living Allowance
c)You receive the Highest Rate Care Component of Disability Living Allowance
d) The child is registered blind

Thats the only choices.
So far the Helpline have given me one Yes You Can claim answer and one No You Cant claim! Not a lot of constructive help there!
It says to put mark the options given that apply to each child, so do I mark none of them?
Being new to this, and being relatively intelligent I can only assume that the system and methods put in place are deliberately obtuse to prevent everyone from claiming!!
I guess i'll go for third time lucky on the phone on monday and see what happens!!!!
Thank you for the help so far!!