Question regarding tax credits.

clb776

If you get WTC are you entitled to the full amount of Child tax credits?

A friend of mine who is a single mum on income support gets almost £56 a week CTC, we get WTC of £70 a week, but our child tax is £51.73, I am not really quibbling the amount we get, but wondering why it was different? (babies were born on the same day! both over one!)

I was aware the maximum ctc was around the £54 mark.

System

Are TCO claiming back an overpayment from your claim?

clb776

no, but we did have an underpayment from last year, so got a lumpsum at the beginning of the year

themonkeybutler

You work so your income is being taken into account is the most logical answer.

beth58_2

Can't answer about what the other lady gets but, like you I would have assumed CTC would be the same regardless of whether or not you worked.

Try HMRC website and try their TC calculator to check your getting the right amount.

Good luck.

Duncombe

Tax credits are largely based on income. If your household earns more than your friend, you will receive less in tax credits. It is also based on the number of children you are claiming for.

clb776

yea, I thought it was probably based on income....I just thought if you were entitled to even a small amount of WTC you were entitled to maximum WTC...and I didn't want to be getting less than I should / my friend getting stung with an overpayment! Rather nip it in the bud asap!

Duncombe

clb776 wrote: »

yea, I thought it was probably based on income....I just thought if you were entitled to even a small amount of WTC you were entitled to maximum WTC...and I didn't want to be getting less than I should / my friend getting stung with an overpayment! Rather nip it in the bud asap!

I assume you mean CTC here?

If you are over 25 and work more than 30 hours a week, you don't need to have any children to claim WTC so you thought very wrong.

WTC and CTC are based on a numerous individual factors so it is probably wise not to compare your situation to your friends, as they are probably very different.

clb776

Sorry yes, I did mean CTC!!! Thankyou for your advice, you know what it is like getting through to the tax credits guys, but yes, the only difference is that I am married, she is single, and my husband works, she does not (I don't either! but not for lack of trying!!!) so she doesn't get the WTC, our children were born on the same day..., I thought I read before that if you got WTC that you were entitiled to full CTC. I didnt realise that this was individual ( the amounts) I thought it was the same...duh!!!

MrsBartolozzi

The amount of CTC you get each week will vary over the year anyway, so if two people with identical circumstances are entitled to the same for the whole year one person might be getting £54.00 a week, the other £49 a week, but the one getting the lower amount will have had a bigger payment at some point in the past this year.
At renewal time I was given, unannounced, a one off payment of £80-odd, and another payment of a similar amount. This has been taken off what I get for the rest of the year and now I get £49 a week even though I'm entitled to the £54.xx a week for 1 child. By April I should have received the full amount albeit in a different way to you. I'm sorry, not explaining it well, but hope you get the idea.


In previous years when we were only entitled to the minimum amount, one year I'd be getting £10.50 a week in April, but by the summer they'd dropped it to £10.10 because for some reason I'd been given £12.50 one week, so they dropped the weekly amount to take this into account. I don't know how or why they work it out like that, but they do.

In your case, and your friend's maybe you had a higher payment or an extra payment earlier this year and so the weekly payments have dropped so you only get the amount you are entitled to by April. Your friend may have had a period when she didn't get paid this year and so, as they tend not to give you a full backpayment, the extra owed to her is added onto her weekly payment and spread out over the year.