can i claim tax credits owed to me from 2003?

salc79

Hi there, just a query thats been bugging me if anyone could help..........In 2003 i fell pregnant with my first child and i worked and was single, i went on maternity leave at 30 weeks pregnant because i was entitled to 6 months, i gave birth to my daughter at 41 weeks and recieved maternity pay for 4 months after her birth, each week my baby and i lived on under 80 pound per week maternity pay and the child benefit i recieved , i struggled like hell not knowing about child and working tax benefit that i could have claimed................ would i be able to claim the child tax credits back that i should have recieved for them 4 months of maternity i had after the birth of my baby in 2003

Sparklebabey

In a word, no.

That fact that you were unaware that you could have claimed the benefit is not a reason.

salc79

i was not aware of anything about tax credits though, i wasnt told about them which i find unfair and then i recieve letters from them saying i owe them an overpayment from 2008 because they calculated my money wrong.

themull1

So you must have known about them at some point to put in an application....

Sparklebabey

salc79 wrote: »

i was not aware of anything about tax credits though, i wasnt told about them which i find unfair and then i recieve letters from them saying i owe them an overpayment from 2008 because they calculated my money wrong.

Tax credits were well publicised by 2003. It isn't their job to seek you out, it is your responsibility to ensure you are receiving all benefits you are entitled to.

Have to say if I was living on 80 quid a week with a newborn then I would have phoned someone like CAB to ask for help...which is when you would have been told about tax credits.

You knew about child benefit so there was nothing stopping you to find out if you were eligible for anything else.

The answer is still no.

salc79

i left my job when matertnity ended and went on to income support for 3 years until i got a new job and then i was introduced to working/child tax credits. i lived with my mam when i had my newborn baby luckily enough i got help but even still it took 3 years for me to learn about them cause i didnt know they existed and neither did my mam ..................... this was only an inquiry because a friend of mine got a rebate from tax credits back dating from an underpayment in 2006 and thought maybe i could claim something back but never mind .

Sparklebabey

An underpayment is completely different to your case.

Your friend had applied for tax credits and was underpaid for whatever reason.

You hadn't applied as you didn't make yourself aware of your entitlement.

Sparklebabey

gregbythesea wrote: »

i agree with you, but lets be honest, the government could and should make claiming benefits a lot easier.




As I say the government make it difficult on purpose to know what you are entitled to.

And I will say again...tax credits were all over the media in 2003....it was hardly a hidden benefit. It's not the government's job to write to every person making them aware of every benefit that out there - it's your own personal responsibility.

Of course nowadays it's just a few clicks of a PC but back then there was nothing stopping the OP giving the CAB a quick call and asking if there was anything else she could get particularly as she was 'really struggling' on £80 per week. She had clearly filled in the CB form which I do know came in the Bounty pack when you had the baby but surely we as a society can't be expected to be spoon fed everything.
She also was able to claim IS after her matty leave finished so clearly knew where to go to get benefits.

princessdon

It was 9 years ago! I couldn't even be a$$ed to go back to my finances then to see if I was entitled!

that said - they come back to you for overpayments years later - so I can see the logic, but sometimes you just have to realise you missed the boat.