Tax credits/universal credit help

Shotz

Hi guys advice needed please.
Basically i applied for uc lasy week as i had recently been made redundant from work. I have a partner and 3 children.
Yesterday i recieved a letter from tax credits stating that because i have made a claim for uc my tax credits claim has stopped.
The problem i have is that i wasnt aware i had a tax credit account,as i have not recieved any benefit from them for previous 7 years as i was in a well paid job.
Can i stop this change over? As i would not be claiming any council tax /housing?
Also on the tax credit letter i recieved they say i owe a repayment

calcotti

You can still have a live tax credit account even if you have not been entitled to receive anything for a number of years. If they say you have been overpaid previously and owe then money you should contact HMRC and ask for details.

Now that you made a UC claim your Tax Credit account is closed. You cannot go back.

If you are on a low income you may be eligible for Council Tax Reduction as well as UC.

Shotz

Can i not state that application for uc was made in error? As i have not recieved any tax credits for last few years i didnt know i already had a account.
I have heard horror storys about uc so i wouod rather stay with tax credits if i could.
On the letter from tax credits it says i have till mid sep to let them know if the figure they have as my earnings is correct and to appeal if not happy. Is that a route i could go down

poppy12345

Shotz wrote: »

Can i not state that application for uc was made in error?

Unfortunately not, as advised once you claim UC you can't go back.


UC isn't as bad as everyone makes out. Some people are better off claiming UC but this will depend on your circumstances.



Put your details into a benefit calculator and it will tell you what you could claim. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

calcotti

If it is only a week since you claimed there I think there is a remote possibility that if you withdraw your UC claim swiftly it can be as if never made and Tax Credits could be reinstated. However this would not be straightforward and might not be successful. You would be trying to convince both DWP and HMRC. In the meantime I infer that you need money which you would be without while trying to reverse matters and which you might never get.

Shotz

Uc application was made on 20th august, i have not had a appointment at jobcentre yet. And tax credit letter was yesterday. That was when i realized i already had a open tax credit account. It was a genuine mistake

Icequeen99

calcotti wrote: »

If it is only a week since you claimed there I think there is a remote possibility that if you withdraw your UC claim swiftly it can be as if never made and Tax Credits could be reinstated. However this would not be straightforward and might not be successful. You would be trying to convince both DWP and HMRC. In the meantime I infer that you need money which you would be without while trying to reverse matters and which you might never get.

I think the OP should get some advice - my understanding is that this is just not possible if the full UC claim has been made. There is a potential argument at the very early stages - but it would need a legal challenge which will take an awfully long time. i would not suggest the OP withdraw his UC claim unless he is sure as otherwise he could leave himself without any support.

IQ

calcotti

Shotz wrote: »

Uc application was made on 20th august, i have not had a appointment at jobcentre yet. And tax credit letter was yesterday. That was when i realized i already had a open tax credit account. It was a genuine mistake

Because you have started a UC claim DWP have issued a stop notice to HMRC which they must act on. It will only be possible to reinstate Tax Credits if the stop notice is withdrawn and DWP will only do this if it has been incorrectly issued. There is some debate about when it is the correct time for it to be issued and whether it can be withdrawn if the UC claim is withdrawn before it has been determined (and what constitutes determination of a UC claim is also unclear).

Given that Tax Credits are based on annual income and we are already half way through the year whereas UC is worked out monthly it seems possible that you will be better off financially on UC anyway - but it's difficult to compare.

You need to respond to Tax Credits about the earnings anyway to make sure their final assessment of your claim is correct.

NedS

My understanding is that if the claimant has no legal basis for the claim (i.e, not entitled) then no claim has been made and the Tax Credits claim can be reopened, but it may take until the end of the first AP to determine entitlement. The most likely reason for no entitlement would be claim nilled due to earnings in the first AP if the claimant has received earnings after 20th August when the claim was made, or if any redundancy payment has caused capital to exceed £16K.

calcotti

NedS wrote: »

My understanding is that if the claimant has no legal basis for the claim (i.e, not entitled) then no claim has been made and the Tax Credits claim can be reopened, but it may take until the end of the first AP to determine entitlement. The most likely reason for no entitlement would be claim nilled due to earnings in the first AP if the claimant has received earnings after 20th August when the claim was made, or if any redundancy payment has caused capital to exceed £16K.

I am not sure that is the case. In order to assess that no payment is due I think the UC has to be determined and once the UC claim has been determined I don’t think there is any going back.

In order to get back to Tax Credits the UC has to be not determined, as if never made. At what point in the claim process a withdrawal would result in this is, to me, unclear.

calcotti

Long discussion here https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/13432/
Also an old article here
https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/resources/article/universal-credit-defective-claims-and-withdrawals. Do note however that this article is 18 months old.