Working tax credit overpayment

daneeb73

I've just received a letter from HMRC stating that they have been writing to me in regards to an overpayment in tax credits to which i have not paid or responded to.

This is the first and only letter i have received.

i've just contacted them to find out what this this overpayment is for and they've told me that i didn't fill in a renewal pack last July (i've never received any letter or pack) so i must pay back all benefits received for that year.

What can i do? I really can't afford to pay the money back.

Hammyman

Well considering that HMRC run an advertising campaign in the run up to the renewal deadline, its hard to claim you didn't know about it and the onus was on you to ring them up and tell them you'd not received the pack. You could have done the renewal over the phone at the same time.

As you've not played by the rules, you may find that there is no way to get out of paying it back but you should be able to sort out some kind of repayment plan or having a set amount deducted from future years awards.

AnxiousMum

Every year, you have to fill out the renewal pack, even if you are not going to qualify for anything the coming year - as it's also used to balance out the prior year's payments. As they will only backdate payments for 3 months, you may find that you do have to pay back anything received in that year. Have you not been receiving payments this year? Or did they stop in September? Surely at that point you thought there might be a problem and have phoned to check it out?