WTC eligibility - confused????

chonorla

Hi, was just wondering if anyone could help me - as I'm a little confused as to how they work out tax credits! Will keep it brief!

I'm on maternity leave claiming MA, till next week.
OH worked April to August 09 earned £11637.

Took voluntary redundancy August 09 and claimed CB JSA till middle of February (plus a few agency shifts where he signed on, off, on off etc) and the CB JSA paid in total was £1460.

Started new job in February and has earned up till the end of the tax year £1820 (including the odd agency shifts before).

My question is - how do they work out WTC? Is it based on what you earnt ALL year or just when your weekly income was low enough to be entitled ie after February (we were getting about £6 a week WTC) but not when you are claiming JSA obviously. Obviously on the renewal form I will put a yearly income - so how do they know when it was earned?

Also as CB JSA is a taxable benefit - do I add that to the total income for the year? Or will there be a seperate place for this amount on the form?

Hope that makes sense to someone......:)

karenx

Its everything you have earnt for the whole tax year, so yours and your partners income. MA is counted as income also, so you might find with everything added up it takes you over the 17k and your not eligable for WTC

TaxCreditHelp

When renewing your Tax Credit award and completing your annual declaration you will need to provide details of all earnings from 06/04/2009 and 05/04/2010.

We will also need to know the amounts of Maternity Allowance and CB JSA you received as CB JSA is also a taxable benefit. These will be totalled and entered into the 'Taxable Social Security Benefits' section of your renewal.

alwaysonthego_2

I thought MA was not a taxable income and was disregarded for the purposes of TC.

lisaf

Hi TaxcreditHelp,

hope you don't mind me jumping in but I started claiming wtc and ctc last Nov. I have been on maternity leave from work since 5th Sept.
I got 8 weeks full pay for the first 8 weeks and it's steadily decreased as time has gone on.
Consequently I have been receiving stat maternity pay the last few months. I work part-time and none of these amounts has obviously exceeded my normal wage.
In the last couple of months I have just been getting the stat mat pay (which I'm struggling to survive on) - do I have to inform TC about the dip in income? (I am a single parent).
Hope that all makes sense! It's the first time I've claimed and I'm really confused how it all works!
Many thanks
Lisa

alwaysonthego_2

lisaf wrote: »

Hi TaxcreditHelp,

hope you don't mind me jumping in but I started claiming wtc and ctc last Nov. I have been on maternity leave from work since 5th Sept.
I got 8 weeks full pay for the first 8 weeks and it's steadily decreased as time has gone on.
Consequently I have been receiving stat maternity pay the last few months. I work part-time and none of these amounts has obviously exceeded my normal wage.
In the last couple of months I have just been getting the stat mat pay (which I'm struggling to survive on) - do I have to inform TC about the dip in income? (I am a single parent).
Hope that all makes sense! It's the first time I've claimed and I'm really confused how it all works!
Many thanks
Lisa

I hope you don't mind me answering!

You need to ask TCO to work your income out for this tax year on an estimated income. With SMP you do not declare £100 per week o it and the rest is counted as income. You need to overestimate your income to avoid an overpayment.

You could get help with CTB and LHA/HB.

TaxCreditHelp

alwaysonthego sorry... it's been a long day! I may have got my wires crossed about the MA. There are certain maternity benefits which are taxable. I'll check tomorrow and get back to you. CB JSA is definitely a taxable benefit though.

lisaf you're current payments will be affected by your estimated income for 2010/2011. If you declare a lower income then your tax credits will increase(depending on your circumstances and as long as you continue to be eligible) however if you estimate too low, at the end of the tax year when you declare your actual income, if it is higher than the estimate we hold then you will end up with an overpayment. So it's worth carefully considering. You may find the entitlement calculator on the HMRC website useful.

lisaf

Thanks to you both! x

Amistoso_2

Hi there,
please don't be offended taxcredithelp but do you have permission to be giving out advice on behalf of HMRC/Tax Credits? just usually any official company representatives have something in their sig saying so, sorry for asking but just sometimes on here you never know who's word you can take on things
xx

TaxCreditHelp

Amistoso wrote: »

Hi there,
please don't be offended taxcredithelp but do you have permission to be giving out advice on behalf of HMRC/Tax Credits? just usually any official company representatives have something in their sig saying so, sorry for asking but just sometimes on here you never know who's word you can take on things
xx

Not offended in the slightest Amistoso. I don't have any official authority to dispense advice once outside office hours (in fact they frown on it) but I'm more than happy to help with any queries if I can.

chonorla

Thanks for all the replies! Tax credits told me MA is not counted.....???? I know CB JSA is though.

The total for the year is just over £14500 - thats wages and JSA combined.

We have only received WTC since my husband started his new job in Febraury. We did not receive it in his old job because it was higher paid.

If they base it on the whole years income, it then appears we have been underpaid for the year as we have only been receiving it since February?
The last tax credit award notice we received had an amount as a "potential payment" on it. I am worried they will pay this out and want it back?

So from what you are saying taxcredithelp, they just take the total annual income in the final figures, not each working period seperately?

In my eyes we were not entitled to it when my husband was in his previous job and he earned well over the threshold.