Is working term term a good option with tax credits. . .

kurjam

i currently work 52 weeks a year, but i have got the option of working term time only....... so what would i do with regards to tax credits ??
do i still claim 16 hours a week even though i am not working in the holidays ?? or do i ring them each week i am off and tell them, as i wont get paid in the school holidays....
when i am not working i presume i get no tax credits is that correct ?? as i only work 16 - 18 hours a week

and i would only need childcare in school time
BUT I STILL HAVE TO PAY IN HOLIDAY TIME TO KEEP MY CHILDS PLACE..

want to check my options before i decide

thank you for any help

DreamerV

If you're in a job with a recognised term time pattern (i.e. if it's normal for people in your job to be term time) then you can give the hours you normally work. For childcare if it's in school time only, then you multiply the costs you pay yourself (don't include amounts paid by dwp/council/employer/childcare vouchers) by 39 weeks school term and divide by the whole year (52), to get an average cost per week. You don't need to phone every holidays to stop your working and childcare details.

kurjam

i work as a childminders assistant and do school pick ups and drop offs mainly, which is only really term time....
so she is saying she as 2 choices i lose my job or just work term time....
so i can still claim 16 hours a week even though not working in school holidays, is that right (school holidays is unpaid)
what about my childcare costs, aspay them at the minute and even if i am off in the school holidays i have to pay them to keep my childs place open for when school starts again....

themonkeybutler

kurjam wrote: »

i work as a childminders assistant and do school pick ups and drop offs mainly, which is only really term time....
so she is saying she as 2 choices i lose my job or just work term time....
so i can still claim 16 hours a week even though not working in school holidays, is that right (school holidays is unpaid)
what about my childcare costs, aspay them at the minute and even if i am off in the school holidays i have to pay them to keep my childs place open for when school starts again....

No you cannot claim 16 hours per week when youre not working 16 hours per week for part of the year. If you averaged it out over 52 weeks, you would be working under 16 hours per week and therefore be totally ineligible for WTC. The best option is to call them when the holidays start so they can stop your wtc, then call them again each time the holidays end. This may seem like faffing about, but if you claim to be working when youre not, that would be fraud.

You also wouldnt be entitled to child care costs during the holidays. The fact you have to pay them 52 weeks a year, whether youre using it or not is a clever ploy by your child carer, but again, if youre not working for two months a year, you cannot claim TC for those periods.

jla1051

themonkeybutler wrote: »

No you cannot claim 16 hours per week when youre not working 16 hours per week for part of the year. If you averaged it out over 52 weeks, you would be working under 16 hours per week and therefore be totally ineligible for WTC. The best option is to call them when the holidays start so they can stop your wtc, then call them again each time the holidays end. This may seem like faffing about, but if you claim to be working when youre not, that would be fraud.

You also wouldnt be entitled to child care costs during the holidays. The fact you have to pay them 52 weeks a year, whether youre using it or not is a clever ploy by your child carer, but again, if youre not working for two months a year, you cannot claim TC for those periods.

You will be able to claim Tax Credits - although when averaged it does mean less than 16hrs per week they will still pay. This much I know for sure - I have plenty of customers who do this. I haven't had anyone who would still need to pay the childcare in the school holidays so I can't answer that one, you would need to ring the TC helpline.

HTH

themonkeybutler

jla1051 wrote: »

You will be able to claim Tax Credits - although when averaged it does mean less than 16hrs per week they will still pay. This much I know for sure - I have plenty of customers who do this. I haven't had anyone who would still need to pay the childcare in the school holidays so I can't answer that one, you would need to ring the TC helpline.

HTH

Erm, no! They will not knowingly pay for 52 weeks a year if you only work 44! Anybody claiming WTC in this way is committing fraud. Whoever your "customers" are need to be made aware of this. This much I know for sure(!)

Indie_Kid

jla1051 wrote: »

You will be able to claim Tax Credits - although when averaged it does mean less than 16hrs per week they will still pay. This much I know for sure - I have plenty of customers who do this. I haven't had anyone who would still need to pay the childcare in the school holidays so I can't answer that one, you would need to ring the TC helpline.

HTH

You'd only be entiled to child tax credits.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong; but isn't there a 4 week-run on for WTC?

themonkeybutler

sh1305 wrote: »

You'd only be entiled to child tax credits.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong; but isn't there a 4 week-run on for WTC?

There certainly is, but its not applicable in every case and i dont think it would be in this one. the problem is that, if it was applicable in all work ending cases, people would start working for a week, then quit (getting a months WTC), then starting work again, quitting....etc. Im not an expert on the run on, but as i said i dont think its applicable in the OPs circumstances. The best thing to do is to simply tell the helpline the changes as and when they happen, and let them deal with it.

kurjam

themonkeybutler wrote: »

No you cannot claim 16 hours per week when youre not working 16 hours per week for part of the year. If you averaged it out over 52 weeks, you would be working under 16 hours per week and therefore be totally ineligible for WTC. The best option is to call them when the holidays start so they can stop your wtc, then call them again each time the holidays end. This may seem like faffing about, but if you claim to be working when youre not, that would be fraud.

You also wouldnt be entitled to child care costs during the holidays. The fact you have to pay them 52 weeks a year, whether youre using it or not is a clever ploy by your child carer, but again, if youre not working for two months a year, you cannot claim TC for those periods.

the tax credit webpage says if you are a term time worker only, you are classed as working 16 hours a week in the school holidays if you dont get paid, and tax credits will run on..... it also says in the school holidays a term worker can claim jsa....

kurjam

themonkeybutler wrote: »

Erm, no! They will not knowingly pay for 52 weeks a year if you only work 44! Anybody claiming WTC in this way is committing fraud. Whoever your "customers" are need to be made aware of this. This much I know for sure(!)

they do do this it says on there webpage, if you are a term worker, you are classed as employed in school holidays (13 wks)

karenx

but you don't work for or with a school. That's what term time means. You are chosing to work these hours. So if works out under 16 hours per week you won't get WTC