CTC ended, what about my NHS tax credit exemption certificate?

Casual_Bystander

Hi all

I have been receiving CTC for the last year and soon after applying was given an NHS tax credit exemption certificate, giving me free prescriptions etc.

Informed tax credits recently of a change in circumstances that now means i am not entitled to CTC. Ended my single claim, not entitled to a joint claim. CTC have stopped, but there has not yet been any mention of revoking/cancelling the NHS cert.

I got a couple of prescriptions the other day and to be on the safe side, not wanting to risk a fine, i paid for them. The advice of the pharmacist was to pay and claim it back later if possible, rather than risk a fine.

So is the exemption cert still valid until its expiry date or until they tell me otherwise, or is it invalid back dated to date of change of circumstances?

Thanks

Cas

CakeCrusader

It may be wise to call them; http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1040.aspx I don't think you can use it once you're no longer eligible, but I may be wrong.

Darksparkle

I thought you could still use it as long as it was in date but I can't remember for definite.

UKSBD

Pretty sure that is what happened with me.


It's going back about 7 or 8 years, but I had one period when I was eligible for free prescriptions, received an exemption card with a specified end date and was told it was still valid even though my circumstances changed.


I used it right up until expiry date and never had any comeback.

UKSBD

They only last for 7 months now - http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/HealthCosts/4515.aspx


Which hints that they are still valid even if your circumstances change.

Becles

If you need regular prescriptions, you can buy a pre-paid certificate which works out at £10.40 a month by direct debit (valid for 12 months but you only pay for 10 months).

I'm on several medications a month and this works out cheaper than paying for them individually.

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx

Casual_Bystander

Thanks all

From some online searching it looks like the cert is valid until it's expiry date, even if there is a change of circumstances that stop your tax credits

However, i think i may be in trouble.

I emailed NHSBSA yesterday to get confirmation from the horses mouth as it were, and they replied saying that according to their records, my cert expired October last year and they had not had confirmation form HMRC to issue a new one. Panicked, i dug out my card and sure enough, it expired last Oct. Seems odd that it had such a short life on it, i only received it in May, so a 6 month life? Thing is, between May and Oct, nothing changed to make me no longer eligible, i was still receiving CTC and my earnings were still £8k, so why wasn't i sent a new one?

Really worried now as i've been claiming free prescription and dental treatment between Oct and when my single CTC ended, so i could be looking at big fines from NHSBSA, when i should have received a cert.

I'm going to contact HMRC (should be fun), to try to get a backdated cert, but i may find that tricky as i have now closed that single claim and am no longer eligible for tax credits.

This could be a right old mess

Cas