Tax credit award v entitled to calc

Erinnire

I received my new tax credit award this morning and it's £40.12 a week lower than the entitled to estimate & my jobcentre estimate.

I don't understand? I've had no taxable income in the last tax year and am only due to earn around £4989 this year.

I've rung and asked tax credits but they spoke about possibly done wrong at the jobcentre but I've done it myself and it's wrong too. I know they are only estimates but surely they wouldn't be over £40 a week out?

If that's the case I am actually better off not working

Sheldon_Cooper

The 'entitled to' situation is really weird.

Wherever you find something to work out combined benefit - including this site - (e.g. WTC and HB/CT) you'll eventually find it's powered by 'entitled to'.

Just about wherever you see 'entitled to' mentioned in a forum you'll see someone saying that it gave them duff results, almost always saying they will get more than they eventually do.

From the counter on the page 'entitled to' handles thousands of queries per day.

The really strange thing is that threads asking about these errors are virtually ignored - certainly on this site. If it's normally giving good information you would expect people to post saying so. If it's frequently giving bad information you'd expect people to post saying so.

I can't understand how such a vital tool can be reported as giving seriously incorrect data and yet there being no large scale discussion of it.

Icequeen99

Erinnire wrote: »

I received my new tax credit award this morning and it's £40.12 a week lower than the entitled to estimate & my jobcentre estimate.

I don't understand? I've had no taxable income in the last tax year and am only due to earn around £4989 this year.

I've rung and asked tax credits but they spoke about possibly done wrong at the jobcentre but I've done it myself and it's wrong too. I know they are only estimates but surely they wouldn't be over £40 a week out?

If that's the case I am actually better off not working

Can you give more info? Your circumatances etc and we can work it out here as well.

I would be surprised if it is £40 out, especially as JC+ don't use entitled to but a different programme.

IQ

princessdon

I find its people putting in the wrong info.

Eg - they don't count any previous taxable benefits. Also I could be wrong here but think entitled to gives annual figures not monthly.

So if over the year you are entitled to £1200 (£150 for 4 months)it will give the figure of £100 pm, however, if you have used £600 already it will mean going forward it will mean £75 (600/8, as you received more in earlier months ).

zagfles

What does the award notice say? Elements, income etc.

Erinnire

Hi Princessdon.

My circs are:

on IS from 03/10/2011 - 16/09/2013.

Child tax credits for 2 children (5 & 3)

Started work on the 17/09/2013 expected to earn 4989.00 between 16/09 and 05?/04 that's roughly 27 hours a week @ £6.60ph that's what the gent on the phone said anyway. Numbers aren't my strong point.

DLA HRC & LRM.

1 spare bedroom.

My tax credit award is

£109 CTC pw
£73 WTC pw

Entitled to says

£114 CTC pw
£113 WTC pw

MSE says

£114 CTC pw
£98 WTC pw

Jobcentre says

£114 CTC pw
£110 WTC pw

Don't want to sound ungrateful haha but it's a big difference every week.

zagfles

The CTC is probably a bit lower because you got an extra payment when they recalculated the award.

With the WTC looks like they've not included disability elements, did you tell them about the DLA?

princessdon

zagfles wrote: »

The CTC is probably a bit lower because you got an extra payment when they recalculated the award.

With the WTC looks like they've not included disability elements, did you tell them about the DLA?

That could well be the difference.

Erinnire

Those are all WTC estimates without the disability elements. I am just waiting on hearing about the Disability elements at the moment.

The estimates online with the disability elements were £152 a week just WTC.

I'm sure their actual award is right and the others are wrong but it's a bit gutting thinking you are going to be that much better off when your not haha!

Icequeen99

Are you sure you entered things correctly in Entitled to?

I have just done it with your circumstances without entering your housing costs/council tax and it is showing £98 WTC without the disability element and £152 with. These are both correct.

The £98 includes the severe disability element.

As far as I can see - the £73 award is correct because they haven't included the disability elements (either the disability element or the severe disability element).

Entitled to is coming out correct as well with £98 and then £152.

I suspect you may have entered something incorrectly.

IQ

Erinnire

Icequeen99 wrote: »

Are you sure you entered things correctly in Entitled to?

I have just done it with your circumstances without entering your housing costs/council tax and it is showing £98 WTC without the disability element and £152 with. These are both correct.

The £98 includes the severe disability element.

As far as I can see - the £73 award is correct because they haven't included the disability elements (either the disability element or the severe disability element).

Entitled to is coming out correct as well with £98 and then £152.

I suspect you may have entered something incorrectly.

IQ

I must be then...

I put no income in for last year as it says don't include benefit income only contribution based. Is that where I have been going wrong?


I don't know what is up with the CTC, It's always about a fiver a week lower than it says so I always get a cheque at renewal... It's like a mini savings account!

Also, whilst I have a thread open. What student finance is taken into account with Tax Credits? Because when I rang to change my circumstances and told them I was going to Uni when did I need to let them know about my finance they said that nothing is taken into account not even the loan which I thought was...

I don't understand how I can get an extra £10k and they don't want to know about any of it?