Child Tax Credits Help, Please?!

ConfuZee

Hi, Firstly I am sorry if this kind of question has done the rounds but I seem to be trawling the internet and forums for answers, to no avail...so I hope someone can help or advise....

I renewed my tax credits online this month and the new award is a lot less than I expected (£150per month less!)...
When I had my 2nd child (January) my working hours and salary was reduced by approx £6000. Prior to this I have never claimed any tax credits, so this is all new to me.

Now my issue is as follows....I used the gov.uk online calculator that gave me a figure for the year, then to be sure that it was right I called and spoke to an advisor...who confimed the amount over the phone, not penny for penny, but thereabouts. So based on this I was satisfied that some of the shortfall of my salary would be made up with help from Child Tax Credits.
Not only is the renewed figure much less, I have also been overpaid??! Yet the renewal form did not contain any new information, it was all the same as I had declared in January

When I called this week to check it out, I was advised that the award was based on my 2014/2015 P60 ...but my argument was that I am no longer earning that amount and haven't been since January 2015, to which the advisor said that I will see the benefit next tax year 2016/2017??!!
she said the online tool is only an estimate (a blooming wrong estimate!) and when I told her that the advisor, who I spoke to in January, told me a figure that I would be awarded. she had no answer...I dont understand it?!

Surely this is not right that I have to wait 12months?

Also in doing the calculation online again this week, it stills come out with a much higher figure??

Any advice would be most appreciated, thanks

jones160312

This happened to me for the same amount. when I called up they hadn't taken the £100 off my smp so £3900 needed to come off my total income figure for 2014-2015

ConfuZee

Blondebubbles - I have given them the following info:
13/14 me £27519 P11D £710 ...partner £13523
14/15 me £26599 P11D £710 ...partner £13053 (I know at these figures we weren't eligible to receive any tax credits, it was purely the birth of the 2nd child, increase in childcare costs and reduction in salary that enabled us to make a claim)
15/16 expect £22400 as new salary was negotiated in Jan 2015 P11D £710 ...partner expects about the same £13053

jones160312 - I have no other income changes, I didn't get SMP, just a new negotiated salary

thanks

ConfuZee

I have just done the online calculator again...just for fun! and it comes out with
£2205.06 for 02.07.2015 til 05.04.2016
that is 277 days = £7.96 per day = £222.95 per 4weeks

my award is £92per 4weeks??

??

ConfuZee

Hiya.... Yes you're right - I now realise it has reduced by that (£4199) on paper, sorry my first figure was based on my Salary going from £28000 to £22400 (approx £6000!)

No... it just asks for 14/15 figures, so I entered £22400 and £710, plus partner at £13038 and got the award figure of £2205

With regards the "disregard" of £2500.... I thought this was only applied during the year of the reduction, and as it was January 2015 (which falls 14/15 tax year) I assumed the full figure of £22400 would stand for tax year 15/16 ?

However - taking that into account - I have just done the online calculator based on £22400 Plus disregard of £2500 = £24900 and £710 plus my partners est annual income £13038 and got the following award:

£1424.24 for 277 days = £5.14 per day X 28 days = £143.92 ...which is still 50% more than my actual award ?!

I have checked the documents and I checked it all over the phone, all seems to be in order...but still there is such a difference...

thanks :huh:

ConfuZee

ahhh....so that must be where I am going wrong! I have clearly misunderstood where the disregard is important....but just for a moan ...the first advisor never mentioned anything about the disregard, this is something I have come across in my own research!

To be completely honest i just took note of the monthly payment due to me....

However, I have disected the award notice again and the total for the year is £1981.39 ...it hadn't occured to me to do the calculation backwards.

Then a deduction has been made of £621.18 in respect of payments received to date (3 payments between april and now at the wrong higher figure)
then the deduction of the overpayment of £103.01
So total due to me £1257.20....split over the remaining term = the lower figure

I now see it! Had the payment of been set right from April then the monthly award would be approx £150

Thank you for your help on this, I now have been educated in the world of tax credits

x

gemsar858413

Hi there, could I ask what SMP is? Thankyou

Suarez

gemsar858413 wrote: »

Hi there, could I ask what SMP is? Thankyou

Statutory Maternity Pay

ConfuZee

Statutory Maternity Pay