In simple terms....

MikeR71

and language people can understand, can someone explain the difference between all the tax credits?
There is working Tax credit, then there is child tax credit, then there is the child element. You qualify for one and need to work 16 hours to get it, but you don't qualify for another because you work too much and earn too much.....

How on earth can the ordinary person work out what they qualify for and which they should apply to? Is there one application which determined which f these benefits you qualify for?

HELP.

dundeediva

Hi Mike,

The simplest way to explain it is that there are 2 of them, child tax credits (CTC) and working tax credits (WTC).

To get child tax credits you have to have at least 1 child normally living with you and have an income below the income limit (for 1 it's circa £26000, 2 is £32000 etc).

For working tax credits, you have to work 30 hours pw, unless you have a child or a disability or are over 60, then you only have to work 16 hrs pw. The income limit for a single claimant with no children, no parter, no dis etc is £12980. For a couple and/or single person with child it is £17743. Limits change depending on personla circumstances.

There are a lot of people on here who are quite knowledgeable about tax credits so if you need a help with anything specific, maybe post it here if you dont want to phone them

UnderPressure

Probably the easiest way to figure out what you can and cannot get is to use the 5 minute benefit check up page, this will ask you some questions then spew out what you could be entitled to:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/benefits-check

pmlindyloo

A little light reading!

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc2.pdf

Actually it's not too bad!

Using an online benefit - here's another one which I find fairly accurate - www.turn2us.org.uk

is the best way forward or as someone has already said, come back here if you have any other questions.

MikeR71

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I have used the calculator as suggested and it seems that our household maybe eligible for some child tax credit. One thing though, is that my wife has just gone back to work after maternity and we don't know how much she earns yet as it varies depending on overtime and extra days which she is some times asked to do. So when reporting income, how do we do it? We don't want to understate or overstate her income. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Right now we are faced with very heavy childcare costs, over £1000 a month, as we have twins. It is going to be hard to make ends meet so I am hoping we get some relief from the government.

Also, I read somewhere that savings will affect child tax credit? We have been saving to purchase our own home although we haven't been able to add to it since the twins arrived. Is this taken into account?

Thanks again.

Also, do savings

pmlindyloo

MikeR71 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I have used the calculator as suggested and it seems that our household maybe eligible for some child tax credit. One thing though, is that my wife has just gone back to work after maternity and we don't know how much she earns yet as it varies depending on overtime and extra days which she is some times asked to do. So when reporting income, how do we do it? We don't want to understate or overstate her income. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Right now we are faced with very heavy childcare costs, over £1000 a month, as we have twins. It is going to be hard to make ends meet so I am hoping we get some relief from the government.

Also, I read somewhere that savings will affect child tax credit? We have been saving to purchase our own home although we haven't been able to add to it since the twins arrived. Is this taken into account?

Thanks again.

Also, do savings

The interest of any savings over £300 is taken into account and treated as income.

As regards the uncertainty about your wife earnings then you will be asked to give an estimate. It is best to always overestimate to prevent an overpayment. It will then be adjusted the following year.

There will be lots of notes to help you complete the tax credits form.

If you still have difficulty then you could make an appointment with CAB and ask an advisor for help to complete the form.

If you do this, do not forget to take all the relevant paperwork with you.

zagfles

Saving themselves are not taken into account at all for tax credits, but the interest you earn (if over £300) is counted as income, but this generally won't make much difference to your claim.

Your entitlement will initially be calculated based on the previous tax year's earnings, but will change if this year's earnings go up by more than £10,000 or down by more than £2500. If this applies, give them an estimate. Try not to under-estimate your income otherwise you'll end up with an overpayment, overestimate your income if anything (then you'll get a lump sum at renewal if they paid you too little).

With eligible childcare costs, ignore the limits posted above, they don't apply. You can get tax credits on much higher incomes. It could be worthwhile taking vouchers (if your employers offer them) for some of the cost but the calculation is very complicated - see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/ccin.htm

Sorry not "in simple terms..." but anyone who can put a scheme devised by Gordon Brown into simple terms is a better man/woman than me :rotfl:

MikeR71

Thanks both for your tips. I will wait for the forms to arrive. We do get childcare vouchers through our work, one each.
It seems a little unfair to me, that families with one child get the same number of vouchers as we do, even though our costs are double. hey ho...that's life! We fee privileged to have them and thank god for them every day.

susannthe3cs

If you go onto the tax credits on line do I qualify it will work out the amount from now till April that you are eligible too x

Anubis_2

You don't need to be working to receive CTC.

zagfles

MikeR71 wrote: »

Thanks both for your tips. I will wait for the forms to arrive. We do get childcare vouchers through our work, one each.
It seems a little unfair to me, that families with one child get the same number of vouchers as we do, even though our costs are double. hey ho...that's life! We fee privileged to have them and thank god for them every day.

You can get more for childcare in tax credits with 2+ children than with 1 though. The limit is £300 a week after you've deducted the amount you get in vouchers, and you get 70% of amount fed into the tax credits calculation (this is then subject to the income taper).