am i entitled to more tax credits when on maternity leave and if so how much?

ness0607

hi there a newbie here.
i have been on maternity leave since the end of may and with me now only on basic maternity pay me and my husand have been struggling a little money wise. but someone mentioned to me that apparently you can give tax credits an estimate of this years earnings (april to april) and because they will be lower than any other year you are entitled to more tax credits. this is my second child and i never realised you could get more money its not explained clearly anywhere. just wondering if anyone can give me any advice if they have been in this situation and if you know of a way i can work out how much more money if any i may been entitled to

many thanks x

Miss_J

I did back in 2004 when I had my last baby. I was only entitled to 90% of my salary for 6 weeks and then went onto Statutory Maternity Pay which was something like £65 per week back then. I called the Tax Credits once I went onto Statutory Maternity pay and after explaining for quite some time (they intially said I had to wait until the end of the tax year and they would pay back what I was entitled to) they agreed to change my award from September 2004, rather than waiting until April 2005. It's worth getting in touch and seeing if the same still applies.