Tax Credits Please Help - Maternity

missclairey_2

Hi there - hope everyone is ok

Not sure where else to ask this - sorry if its the wrong place. Just can't seem to resolve it

With regards to the Sure Start Maternity Grand - can I only claim it when i get my child tax credits or is there a way I can claim before?

Also I'm still so confused with all this tax credits stuff i'm taking a year off work (may not go back) starting from October (29 wks) when they ask what my pay is what do I tell them, my pay from April-04-April-05? Or April-05-October when i go on maternity?

I've just called Inland Revenue they've told me to put my salary for April-04-April-05 on the form, I can't see how this is fair when i'll be on maternity from October so only getting maternity pay.

I sat and thought about it for a while and called them back to be told totally different -they said to put my salary from April-05-October-05 as I wont be earning anything (other than mat pay) up to the next tax year (April 06) she said to take my salary of 17k and work out what i'll get from April-Oct and put that down as my earnings.

(This is for working as i don't get child till baba comes)

I still wasn't sure if that was right so called again and Now i've been told to put what I earn from April04-April-05 on the form and then after about a week call them up and say my circumstances have changed and i'm on maternity?

Bloody hell I haven't a clue which to do now do i:
Put my earning from April04-April-05
Estimate my earnings from April-05-April-06
or have a mad one and run round screaming ha ha slowly going mad.

I'm soooooooo confused and everytime i call the helpline i get told a different thing.
Claire

flea72

you give them the figures from your current P60 (tax year 04/05) - then when you have your baby, you then contact them again to tell them that your situation has changed, and you are no longer working, they will then reasses your claim

however the figures prob wont be spot on, and any discrepancies will be sorted out in next years figures - so it could be, that at the end of this tax year you get a lump sum if they underpaid you, or if you were overpaid, they will reduce next year payments - also when you apply for next years credits, you dont include stat mat pay as income, so technically once you give up work in october, you arent classes as having any income, until you return to work - does that all make sense?

as for the surestart grant, you cant apply for that until you know you are entitled to it - so once your tax credits claim has been sorted out after the babys birth, then you would apply (you have 3m after the birth)

hth

missclairey_2

Ok i think I understand what I have to do now - Thank you.

One last question.

My currently salary is 17k so i'm not entitled to working tax credits but once i go on maternity in October - will I be entitled to working as ill only be getting mat pay until my baby arrives in December if i am how will i claim this if i have to put 04-05 pay?

Thanks again
Claire

jellyhead

hi claire,
how much is your maternity pay? i assume you don't live with a partner, or if you do they don't have an income?

we're already claiming, i have one child and am about to have my second child next week. we had to put our apr04-apr05 income on the form, but then i called them two weeks afterwards, said my circumstances had changed and i'm no longer working. i'm on maternity but i don't get paid - i do get maternity allowance from the government but that doesn't count. they had to have last years figures in order to finalise last years award, but then they said they could do an award based on my current situation, with an estimate of how much we will earn. it's only an estimate because i don't know if my husband will get a pay rise on october 05. i don't plan on going back to work, not before april at least and husband doesn't always get a pay rise, so i thought it safe to estimate our yearly income based on what his salary is at the moment (plus what i earned in the 2 or 3 weeks between april and my going on maternity leave). at the moment my not working doesn't make a difference to our money, we already have one child and we only get the family element of around ten pounds a week council tax. the woman on the phone said to call them after my baby is born, because it's a change of circumstance, and ask them to reassess my award. if having the extra baby means we're entitled to some more money then maybe i can claim the surestart grant. i probably can't, but that's because my husband earns around the 24 threshold, it will be different for you.

anyway, that's the advice i was given, do the claim using last years money, then when the baby is born call them and get them to reassess the claim based on your current situation. if you're entitled to the surestart grant you can claim it then, you only get 3 months after the birth to claim it i think. also make sure you claim child benefit. unfortunately i don't think you can claim the surestart money before the baby is born, someone else might know differently. fingers crossed for you.

missclairey_2

Thanks JellyHead
Yes i'll be getting Maternity Pay of :First 6 weeks 90% of average weekly earnings, Remaining 20 weeks £106.00 or 90% of average weekly and I earn 17k - I shall claim child tax once baby comes then - thanks for your advice
Can you help me with this too:
My currently salary is 17k so i'm not entitled to working tax credits but once i go on maternity in October - will I be entitled to working as ill only be getting mat pay until my baby arrives in December if i am how will i claim this if i have to put 04-05 pay or shall i put 04-05 pay then call them up and say i'm on maternity?
Claire x

missclairey_2

is that what i should do
claire

Destiny33

With the surestart payment if i remember correctly you can get a form from your midwife before you have your baby. I got the £500 payment when i was pregnant with my son and it was a godsend as i'm a single parent

jellyhead

i don't know anything about working tax credits so i can't advise there. i don't know if it's worth sending in a claim now based on last years, letting them tell you you get zero, and then when you have the baby let them know that things have changed, or even let them know when you go onto maternity. i really couldn't tell you, sorry.

i don't know about getting the surestart grant before baby comes, you have to be claiming benefits as a single parent i think ...

sorry i don't know much about the tax credits system, only what they've told me. good luck!!

jenpoptab

To qualify for Sure start maternity grant you have to be in receipt of WTC, Income support or income based jobseekers. You can claim from your 29th week, or up to when baby is 3 months old!

Woby_Tide

when working out your 'pay' for the rest of the tax year including your maternity, remember the first £100 of any maternity pay per week is excluded from your calculations (so if allyour 26 weeks of maternity are before Apr '06 reduce income by £2600 on the form)