specialist team for tax credits renewal (merged)

hhoggar

Hi am new to this so here i go.. made my renewal over the phone back in April have just received a letter from specialist team in belfast asking for child care recipts and contract and p60.. I dont have any receipts or contract and really worried have not slepted all week. have 3 children and will be having my 4th in 7 weeks am already stressed and can not afford for them to stop my money.. Has anyone called them and beeen able to sort it out over the phone or do I need this paper work.. Could kick myself as never asked for receipts before and never thought.. Dont know what to do..

Hammyman

Well the childcare provider should be able to give you a receipt. They have to be registered for you to qualify for the childcare costs so should be operating as a business. Your employer will be able to give you your contract of employment. You should have had a P60 for the tax year 6/4/2009-5/4/2010 weeks ago so if you've not had one, you need to get on to your employer as they HAVE to have provided one by now.

You need this paperwork as they want written proof of your income and childcare costs.

hhoggar

I have my p60 my problem is my child care provider.. thats why I was wondering if they could call them and they can confirm all the details to them. Plus they wont originals.. just confused and worried

cherryblossoms

Does your child care provider not issue you with a receipt? If not you need to give them a call and ask for them, they will have to keep a record for their tax returns so they should have all of the information and should be able to provide you with it. The tax credit office need written evidence. If the child care provider is not doing it through the books and can't give you a receipt then i'm afraid the tax credit office will look at it as an overpayment.

Deepmistrust

cherryblossoms wrote: »

Does your child care provider not issue you with a receipt? If not you need to give them a call and ask for them, they will have to keep a record for their tax returns so they should have all of the information and should be able to provide you with it. The tax credit office need written evidence. If the child care provider is not doing it through the books and can't give you a receipt then i'm afraid the tax credit office will look at it as an overpayment.

Not necessarily, more like if she can prove she has been using registered childcare (i.e. the provider will have child records, and this will be easily provable), and the childcare provider hasn't been putting her through the books, then the provider is the one that will have HMRC on their back for not declaring their income.

hhoggar

Well things are starting to go from bad to worse.. Have just been and asked for my receipts to be told that she is not really registered... What to do now I dont really know.... Am feeling really sick at this moment in time

Deepmistrust

hhoggar wrote: »

Well things are starting to go from bad to worse.. Have just been and asked for my receipts to be told that she is not really registered... What to do now I dont really know.... Am feeling really sick at this moment in time

If she isn't registered, you would never have been able to give HMRC her registration number.

So either she is registered, in which case you are ok. Or you gave a false registration number to HMRC, in which case you aren't ok.

Alternatively, she was registered but isn't now. In which case, if she didn't inform you she was no longer registered, and has carried on childminding, she is also carrying out an offence. It is illegal to look after other peoples children in your own home for any reward for more than two hours per day, without being registered by Ofsted.

System

hhoggar wrote: »

Well things are starting to go from bad to worse.. Have just been and asked for my receipts to be told that she is not really registered... What to do now I dont really know.... Am feeling really sick at this moment in time

Firstly - when you originally advised TCO of the childcare provider they would have asked you for the name and address of the provider, which body they were registered with and the registration or approval number of that provider with that body. If TCO can't match the details then that could be why they are querying the details with you.

Secondly - How have you been paying this person? Cheque or cash ie do you have proof that you have been making regular payments to a childminder?

Thirdly - you can check with your local authority if this person is in fact fully registered and vetted to look after other peoples children and if not then you need to consider alternative childcare arrangements.

sorryitsme

When I contacted TCO to give my daughters nursery details they didn't ask me for the registration number. I assumed maybe it was because other people had given them the number before. If this has happened to other people with a childminder it could lead to hhoggars situation.

Deepmistrust

sorryitsme wrote: »

When I contacted TCO to give my daughters nursery details they didn't ask me for the registration number. I assumed maybe it was because other people had given them the number before. If this has happened to other people with a childminder it could lead to hhoggars situation.

Yes, but someone at some point would have to have given a registration number for the childminder.

If HMRC didn't ask her to also supply it, then they at least would have asked for her name and address. In which case if she wasn't a known childcare provider then the childcare element would not have been paid, and if she was a known childcare provider who subsequently lost her registration without informing parents, and that the registrating Body (i.e. Ofsted) also failed to inform parents that the childminder had had her registration removed, then there would be definite grounds to appeal any overpayment. In addition the childminder has also been working illegally.