Working tax credits?

aaroncaz

I am hoping to return to work next week, after being out of work, since october 2005, now i remember the tax credits being really maddening to understand! A friend said as i am a single mother, i am entitled to something else on top of working tax and child tax credit, i know abt child care allowance, what could this be, she reckons its £15 a week?

hulltrucker

aaroncaz wrote: »

I am hoping to return to work next week, after being out of work, since october 2005, now i remember the tax credits being really maddening to understand! A friend said as i am a single mother, i am entitled to something else on top of working tax and child tax credit, i know abt child care allowance, what could this be, she reckons its £15 a week?

Go to your local Jobcentre plus - they will do something called an "in work benefit calculation" which will include housing & council tax benefits and working/child tax credit. They will work out your take home pay and enay benefits so u can directly compare it to what u have now. Also if you are eleigable for wtc they will do all the paperwork for you and fast track it through the system for you

aaroncaz

I am going on wensday to do this, lets hope they are better informed, than last time i went, in 2003, where i wasnt even told, that i could claim housing benefit!!

hulltrucker

good luck then, i think they do it all on a computer now - make sure you know all the details they have asked you for (things like rent amount, income from last year, the amount you will be earning etc etc) otherwise they can't do it accurately - dont know where your local JCP is but mine in Hessle east yorkshire are really good for this

aaroncaz

yes, i will have it all prepared!!

Cute_'n'_Quirky

The Job Centre didn't tell me that I was entitled to WTC back last October - I had to find out for myself, through this site, in February!

hulltrucker

I heard that they will backdate it for up to three months, but that was a while ago - could be worth checking though?

Cute_'n'_Quirky

Yes they do. Considering my claim was done on February 20th I have still not had the three months backdated paid yet. Despite a few phone calls and their assurances in March that this would definitely be paid to me by the end of April, it still hasn't been done.

aaroncaz

when i last claimed in London, in 2003, i ended up owing £600 in childcare costs, while waiting for them to sort it out, had to go to office to get an check!!