WFTC & CTC, income went down so so did benefits - is this right ??

jamieukonline

Hi all,

I recently advised the tax credits people that my wife's maternity pay has ended and that she is not returning to work.

They sent new letter through and it now shows lower payments to be made. So our income decreases and so does tax credits?

Any know why this may be?

jay1jay

Also, were you receiving help towards childcare costs before? You won't be entitled to that anymore.

trickytrolleys

When I got my renewal form I mistakenly gave my annual wage as my income for the last tax year, so eg I put that in tax year I got £8K when in actual fact I had only earned £2.5K. I phoned the benefits people and told them that i made a mistake and has seriously overestimated my earnings.

My first TC award said £250 p/m when they thought I had earned alot more than I had but when I got the revised award (where I had actually got about £6K less than originally stated my award had reduced to £184 p/m) - i phoned them to query it but they just kept saying it was right, I dont understand how by getting less money in that period can reduce the amount, if anything I would imagine it would have increased - can anybody help me on this please.

Thanks

trickytrolleys

yes, thats right. What I dont understand is that how my award can go down by £60 a month because I phoned and told them I had actually rec'd less in the 06 / 07 period than I initially stated.

Could I pm you the details and see what you think please ?

bestpud

Have your hours dropped at all?

trickytrolleys

no, what happened was that I started p/t work in Jan '07 and went onto WTFC etc so when I filled in the renewal form instead of putting how much I had actually earned in TY 06/07 i mistakenly just put my annual salary from this I got the notification that my award was xx amount a month so when i phoned them and explained that I had made a mistake and that my actual income for that period was lower they reassessed and sent me a new notification that reduced my award by £60 a month.

I just dont get how it could go down

Thank you for this

clairec79

They haven't put that you stopped work and therefore aren't getting the working tax credit have they?

trickytrolleys

I don't think so, I cannot for the life of me fathom how it has had such an impact and when I called them for an explanation they just kept repeating that I hadnt told them how much I would be earning this year - I really have absolutely no idea what on earth is going on but the only difference between the original award and the revised one is me telling them I had told them i had earned far more than i actually did for 06/07 tax year

jamieukonline

no wtc, it's only ctc and no child care costs!

alwaysskint96

Has the baby nturned a year old? That would decrease the tax credits

wifeforlife

I'd say it is right based on my own experience.

I know that when I went from Full time work to part time work, I had a big drop in WFTC and now I'm able to go back full time, my WFTC is increasing again

For me though I was told it's because I'm going into another bracket for working more hours, I wonder if it's the same for you

Hope you get it sorted

Cate