child tax credit help?

shezzy

Sorry if this is on the wrong thread but i seem to get more responses on this forum.
We get child tax credit but what confuses me is that we still have to let them know if we earn any more than they have on their records, well someone told me that it should'nt matter if you earn more as it won't make a difference to the amount we recieve?
What i'm trying to do is find out how many hours a week can i work before it effects how much we get from them?
Sorry if i sound thick!

shezzy

Seaxwyn

Hi shezzy,

You don't sound thick at all! Child tax credits are really complicated and I don't understand the rules either.

Your friend is wrong - you DO need to tell them if you earn more than you originally told them. Eventually they will find out and will then reclaim the difference if they have overpaid you. I have found from experience it's better to tell them as soon as anything changes.

I don't know about the hours - I work 25 hours a week and my partner 20 and we get tax credits.

I find they are very helpful if you phone up and ask these kind of questions. The helpline is 0845 300 3900.

trulymadlydeeply_indebt!

Completely agree with Seaxwyn.

Whenever I have a change of circumstances (very often) I ring them up and let them know - no matter how small the change is - the thought of a massive reduction in amount next year sends me into a sweaty!

I once rang and asked them to tell me how many hours OH needed to work to get as much as possible. The VERY kind chap on the end of the line gave me figures for 16, 20, 24, 27 and 30 hours. We went for 27 for OH in the end as it fit in around my job and childcare arrangements.

Hope this helps.

TMD

raq

THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A HELP TO ME.

Lot of people have problems with them but it is few and far

rayday2

Even if you put different figures in entitledto.com you can get an idea if you need to inform you.

I am paying back monies from the first year when they stuffed up and I didnt realise because I never recieved an award notice, communication is always better at least you know rather than being caught up with!