Tax credits want more info now or payments stop

DanE2010

This happens time and time again with tax credits claiments, it is upto you to make sure your income you declare to them is correct in the alloted time they give you - which is much longer than 30 days. You have from April until the 31st of July in which to renew and in that time you can give an actual figure or an estimate, you then have until January 31st the following year to confirm your actual income - which allows for those self employed to sort of their accounts, once 31st Jan hits tax credits are not LEGALLY allowed to change your income, its not their rules its the law and legislation they have to follow, therefore every year since 2003 you have had all that time to sort out your income and by your own admission you say you have been mistaken - which sounds abit iffy to me if you have been doing your self assesment every year?? but anyways the fact of the matter is the dealines have passed and they cannot change it now. You will get a provisional award until TCO have recieved your renewal and processed it, once the renewal has processed you will be sent and Initial CY award for the current tax year containing your actual income for the previous tax year, it will also come with a checklist to go thru the award to make sure TCO hold all the correct info on you and clearly states if anything is incorrect to call asap.

Its also your responsiblity to keep them updated with any change of circumstances, including work/self employtment changes, change of hours worked, Income, address, partner moving in or out, children, childcare, etc etc, so if you have not done that when they changed happend then this can lead to over or under payments, they arent mind readers and in return for money you have a reasonsibility to keep ontop of your situation and let them know asap if your circs change.

In regards to them asking for all this paperwork etc then obviously your claim has been picked to be looked into because maybe it doesnt all add up and they need evidence to back up what your saying is your circumstances, I wouldnt worry if you have nothing to worry about, tco are looking into claims alot closer in the past few months cause they realise if they check these things now they can save themselves alot of money in the long run, just like all childcare costs being checked before they are put into payment, a direct result of the sheer amount of money the department lost from people claiming higher costs fraudulently, they have saved hundreds of thousands by checking the costs with the childcare provider first. Anyways I would send all your paperwork first class recorded delivery and also call the person asking for the info to say you have sent the information but please could you have an extension as your worried with the extreme weather it may not get there on time and im sure they will be fine with that, if you just leave it and dont contact them then they will terminate, also you cant fax or email TCO and they have to see the paperwork so post is the only option.

AnxiousMum

If you have been self employed since 2003......when you have done your renewal each year, they then ask for ACTUAL figures from the previous year's income. Did you not provide it at that time? After all, as said above, you would've needed to have completed your taxation paperwork and so should have all that to hand.

Also being self employed - are you not keeping any records or something? You should have all the things that they are asking for above, not having to ask for copies surely. Also, you have already been given an extension - and now asking for more. If, let's just say, your case was a claim that SHOULD be stopped - and they don't know whether it should or not, as they have already given you two months notice to provide the info required, just how long do you expect them to pay out money to a claim they feel is fraudulent based on info that they have proof of (partner using your address, joint bank account etc.)?

Sorry - but your post doesn't add up - some things just have too many holes in them to hold water!

DanE2010

If you were getting benefits in kind you would of got a P11D with the cash equivalent on it which you would also have to delcare as its taxable income.

If you were paying into a company pension (ie a pension scheme through your employer not a private pension) this will of already been taken into account on your p60, the figure you give on your p60 is the total for year which already takes off things such as company pension.

Im not accusing you as a fraudster im just seeing it from TCO's point of view from what you have written in your original post that there alot of things that dont add up etc but its not for me to judge I was just trying to clairfy some points that you got wrong there - the whole 30 days to delcare your income etc so hope that clears up some points for you with the timescales and why they wont change your income all the way back 2003.

ajr3773

no-oneknowsme wrote: »

Thats exactly how it looks to me too DX2.

OP - you stated that you have given your self employment figures to HMRC for tax credits and that you had under under estimated . You state that you had been under estimating for the years 2003 -2008 .

Then , further into your post you mention that you informed tax credit office that you were self employed and that was sometime around July time of 2010 ?

If you were self employed from 2003 then why were you telling HMRC that you had just started self employment in july 2010 ?

Somethings not quite right about this post.

I was not self employed until March 2010. Between 2003 and 2008 i had to fill in an annual self assesment for my emloyers for fuel benefits in kind, as i travelled 50,000 miles per annum with my job and i paid for all the fuel that went into the car.

Nick_B_3

It is difficult to give advice without knowing the dialogue with you and your caseworker. If the decision is made you will have the right to appeal and if you appeal you will be asked to provide any further information / evidence anyway. The fact that some documents are already provided should go a long way to delay the decision - in most cases TCO will accomodate further time where it is clear you are attempting to comply with their request.

The issue about the earlier years is correct however - this is under the legislation Tax Credit Act 2002 S18(11):

Subject to sections 19 and 20 and regulations under section 21 (and to any revision under subsection (5) or (9) and any appeal)—
(a)in a case in which a decision is made under subsection (6) in relation to a person or persons and a tax credit for a tax year, that decision, and
(b)in any other case, the decision under subsection (1) in relation to a person or persons and a tax credit for a tax year,
is conclusive as to the entitlement of the person, or the joint entitlement of the persons, to the tax credit for the tax year and the amount of the tax credit to which he was entitled, or they were jointly entitled, for the tax year.

missbunbury

ajr3773 wrote: »

Yes i have a partner but we don't live together yet. Surely for tax credit purposes im classed as single for claiming.

I don't think it's only about living together, certainly for some benefits you can be treated as a couple when living apart. They look at things like whether you have financial ties, where you each do your washing, where you eat meals - I've read lots of examples on here of people being investigated to decide whether they are a couple. It sounds like something similar is going on here.

I guess the reason they consider so many different factors is that otherwise any couple could access single person's benefits simply by maintaining two addresses (you'd think that would be too expensive but of course if one of the benefits in question is housing benefit, it could be easy). So they look at all sorts of stuff, and to be honest it sounds to me, OP, as if you and your girlfriend are very much a couple - you have a joint account, your girlfriend is registered for a benefit which implies she spends most of her time at your address. it sounds like you pay her mobile phone bill...

If I were you I'd be a bit worried about this whole thing.

With regards to the possible previously under-paid tax credits, I am not too expert about tax credits, but I do know a bit about self-employment and I am a bit confused by what you've said. Can you elaborate a bit on this mileage and car stuff? So, you were PAYE employed by a company, who sorted you out a car. You then paid a car loan directly out of your wages - was this deducted before or after tax? Then you filled in a self-assessment tax return every year to claim the tax back on the fuel you had bought, yes? In what way did you declare this? Were you reimbursed by your employer at all?

pupsicola

I haven't had chance to read all the other responses to your thread. But is there any chance you could get the organisations to fax you the info required and you fax this to TCO. I know they will need original documents eventually but they could at least make their judgement on the info you supply. We haven't had post in my area for 4 days. When I checked with Royal Mail they said they are taking mail in but not delivering due to health and safety for posties :eek:

Loopy_Girl

ajr3773 wrote: »

Yes i have a partner but we don't live together yet. Surely for tax credit purposes im classed as single for claiming.

But she cares for your son and claims the CA for doing that...which is paid into your joint account.

Of course you are a couple. No one in their right mind would leave their son with their partner if they didn't consider themselves to be a couple.

How often does she stay over? Why, if it was all legit, was her CA not paid into a personal account? Why is her contract phone either registered to your address or you pay her bills?

When you renew they ask you VERY clearly if the figure you are giving is with your pension conts deducted. They also ask you later on for any 'benefit in kind' payments.

I'm no expert by any means but reading the facts as you have given them, if it were me I would be having several sleepless nights.

Exactly what info is it you are after? Don't you keep records of your bank statements - internet banking? You obvs should have all your S/E details and have already said you have your S/A statement from the HMRC

Loopy_Girl

ajr3773 wrote: »

How is someone classed as a partner for tax credit purposes if you don't actually live together.

You refer to her as your partner yourself!

There are many ways you can be a partner and in a relationship without staying together...looking after a sick son daily perhaps?

Do you think that when these men go to Afghan the wives at home whoop it up as they are now 'single'? Of course not.

I think you are going to have a job to convince them you are entitled to your single claim - particularly as you have a joint account...that's a major indication to anyone that you class yourself as a couple and have a partner.

Loopy_Girl

Well then I guess you can only phone up again and ask for an extension until the 17th and reiterate about the bad weather and lack of mail drops.

You could try your MP again re an extension. They may be able to buy you some time.