£500 one-off tax credits payment

Whiterose23

Please can someone help me understand this? I am a single parent, registered for tax credits and receive Child Tax Credits but not Working Tax Credits. I have just spoken to HMRC as I did not receive the one-off payment of £500 and wanted to ask why that was. She advised me that it was because I only qualify for Child Tax Credit. However on the HMRC site it states this:

You may get a one-off, tax-free payment of £500 if, on 2 March 2021, you were getting either:

• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit and were eligible for Working Tax Credit but you did not get a payment because your income is too high to get Working Tax Credit payments

I fit into the second condition above, and she said she couldn't explain why this message is on the HMRC site as it is 'only people who receive Working Tax Credit who are eligible'. Can anyone enlighten me? Am I missing something?

poppy12345

The person you spoke to is not correct. It;s exactly as it's stated above and there's people who post here who have received payment even though their income is too high to receive WTC.  I'm assuming you or your partner are working?

Whiterose23

Hi, I work full time but stopped receiving WTC as I no longer qualify. However I do qualify for CTC and am registered to receive it.  At the moment I am not receiving a payment for CTC as I was overpaid in error a couple of years ago, but once this is cleared (it’s down to around £200) then I expect
payments to resume. I live with my school age son and 18 year old daughter.

strawb_shortcake

Could it be that because you presumably weren't receiving the benefit on 2nd March you aren't entitled?

Whiterose23

I’m wondering if it means you had to be ‘eligible’ for WTC on 2nd March but didn’t get a payment that month? I find it confusing.

Icequeen1

Whiterose23 said:

I’m wondering if it means you had to be ‘eligible’ for WTC on 2nd March but didn’t get a payment that month? I find it confusing.

I don't think so - the GOV.UK website doesn't have much detail but i found this article: https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/coronavirus-guidance/tax-credits-and-coronavirus/500-pound-payment-working-households-tax which suggests it isn't about payments but about eligibility. On your award notice for last year - did it have working tax credit elements listed? 

Whiterose23

Hi, thanks for your response. I used to receive WTC but no longer do so I guess it could be you had to be eligible on 2nd March. Having checked my account it has me listed for Child Tax Credit only, so I guess that is the issue.

Icequeen1

Whiterose23 said:

Hi, thanks for your response. I used to receive WTC but no longer do so I guess it could be you had to be eligible on 2nd March. Having checked my account it has me listed for Child Tax Credit only, so I guess that is the issue.

It depends on what is shown in the online account - you might be only receiving payments of CTC but that isn't really what the criteria is looking at. Does the online account show the full award notice? If you were working, then really the working tax credit elements should be included. 

calcotti

Although arguably unfair, I think the issue is more likely to be that nothing was in payment on 2nd March due to the deduction for past overpayment. Just guesswork on my part though.

Whiterose23

On my account on HMRC it just states ‘Tax Credit Summary’ and lists the people on my claim (myself and my son), then options to change personal details.
Also a message stating that my renewal pack hasn’t been sent out yet, but nothing else.
I used to be able to see previous payments and upcoming ones but I presume that as I’m not getting anything at the moment due to the overpayment, there is nothing showing on the account now. I also have an active Help To Save account, which is only open to people who qualify for tax credits.

Icequeen1

calcotti said:

Although arguably unfair, I think the issue is more likely to be that nothing was in payment on 2nd March due to the deduction for past overpayment. Just guesswork on my part though.

The article i linked to suggests that wouldn't be a bar to getting the payment. I wasn't sure so i've just had a look at the Treasury Direction and i'm inclined to agree. Even if there is overpayment recovery, there would still be an underlying award in place.