Post by NiteawkPost by RobbieThe problem with tax credits is that they are assessed on annual
taxable income, initially on the taxable income received in the
previous tax year then at the end of the current tax year the tax
credits received are reconciled against taxable income earned during
the tax year just ended. In theory they should be straightforward but
in practice they are a nightmare. Also tax credits paid during a tax
year are basically an "advance" of the tax credit you would receive at
the end of the tax year once your earnings for the year have been,
well, earned. If you have received the correct amount then all is
fine. If you have received too little then there's a nice little bonus
due. If you have received too much then it's possibly (but not always)
cough the cash up time as you will have been overpaid. Except you may
not know you are being overpaid at the time you got the tax credits as
the actual assessment for tax credit amounts is overly complex. Plus
if you do not provide the correct sort of information at the end of
the tax year (and by July 31) to reconcile your income for the tax
year just ended in April then HMRC can rule you have been overpaid ALL
of your tax credits paid during the year even if you were due them at
the time. This last part may be what has happened to Nomen, though I'm
not 100% sure.
Gordon Brown introduced tax credits to simplify the old Family Credit
earnings top up scheme which based a top up on an average of your
earnings for the last month or two... the last system was unfair (do
overtime in that period and you lost out as FC payments were fixed for
6 months, similarly many people would drop their hours during the
period to get more FC) but at least it was easier to work out how much
you would get per week.
--
Robbie
I can see how this system might cause problems for some people if they
calculate net income rather than gross income. And then there is
overtime to consider, still shouldn't be that far out. I think the
lesson here is to err on the side of caution. Still it should not be
that difficult to work out, then again what happens if the job only
lasts for say 6 months, then you are screwed. That means you were over
paid 50% in TC's based on 12 mts calculations.
Its a bit complicated and should be treated with caution. Most people
are not that clever at maths, and most will not know how long they are
going to be in employment, never mind when the tax year begins and ends,
and thats another problem, having just got a job in the middle or near
the end of a tax year, and then losing the job part way into a new tax
year. You need some accounting skills to work it out. Then there is the
tax credit rules to consider, I suppose the amount of earnings you get
has something to do with it. And what happens if you only work 3 mts and
end up back on the dole, will they say you can keep the TC's paid, I
doubt it. Thats a 75% over payment if you started work at the beginning
of the tax year.
be paid correctly or underpaid. In theory (at least) you shouldn't be
overpaid.