Help For Households

WYSPECIAL

Hi, 

I’ve tried to find an answer but with no success.

If you qualify for the payments based upon initial tax credits assessments but due to change of circumstances within the tax year would not have qualified based upon the final decision notice will the Help For Households payments have to be repaid?

Thanks.

calcotti

Like you I can't find a definitive answer on that - nor would I know who to contact to find out.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment guidance says entitlement to the CoL payments is based on receiving Tax Credits payments between certain dates. On the basis that you did receive payments between the relevant dates you do qualify.

Although there is a paragraph that says "If you have received a Cost of Living Payment, but we later find that you were not eligible for it, you may have to pay it back" it will still remain factually true that you did receive Tax Credits payments.

The relevant regulation is here
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/38/section/2/enacted
It says

2 (2) A person has a qualifying entitlement to child tax credit or working tax credit in respect of a qualifying day if—

(a) where the qualifying day is 25 May 2022, the person receives a payment or has an award of the credit in question in the period beginning with 26 April 2022 and ending with 25 May 2022;

(b) where the qualifying day is the second qualifying day, the person receives a payment or has an award of the credit in question in the period of one month ending with the second qualifying day,

and, in either case, the payment or award of the credit in question is of at least £26 or HMRC expects the person to receive total payments or have an award of the credit in question of at least £26 in respect of the tax year 2022-23.

It seems to me that these requirements are still met even if the Tax Credits award is later revised to nil entitlement for the year because it still remains true that at the time you did receive a payment and HMRC did expect you to have an award (retrospective revision doesn't undo the expectation).

The situation will be different if you failed to inform HMRC about changes in your circumstances when they occurred and if reporting changes at the correct time would have resulting in the ending of payments that might then be treated as fraudulent in which case you would no longer meet the qualifying condition.

2 (3) References in this section to a person receiving a payment or having an award do not include payments received or awards made as a result of fraud.