During April 2011-December 2012 I was either unemployed or a full-time student.
From December 2012 I then started working full-time, earning roughly £14,000/year, with a contract running until April. I applied for Working Tax Credit, and I was paid around £50/week. I'm assuming that that must have been based on my not earning anything during the previous tax year.
Then in April my contract was extended to September, and my salary increased to around £17,000/year, so I rang the Tax Credits people to inform them of the change.
My Tax Credits then went down from around £50/week to around £7/week, and I assume that the reason for such a big drop was because of the salary increase.
Even so, I rang them to make sure that was right. As far as I can tell (the person on the phone wasn't very helpful), my Tax Credits claim is probably based on me earning £17,000 from April 2013 to April 2014, rather than from April 2012 to September 2013, and so I wasn't sure if I should base my claim on my contract ending in September 2013.
I asked the woman on the phone if I should do that, and she said that I could if I wanted to (and presumably my payments would then increase), but she said that I could then be in dander of being overpaid, should my contract be extended. So then I said to her, if I leave things as they are, then my contract ends in September, wouldn't I be owed extra money, and would I be able to get it? And she said that once I was unemployed, I wouldn't be entitled any more.
So now I'm not sure if I should leave my claim as it is, and then if I get a month's notice of my contract ending in September, then ring the Tax Credits people and see if I can get any extra money out of them, or if I should change my claim based on my contract ending in September, and risk being overpaid.
I know that I was over the earning threshold in the first place, and I was surprised that I would be getting any Tax Credits after the pay increase, but seeing as I am still getting something, I'd like to try and make sure it's the right amount.
Does anyone know what I should do?
From December 2012 I then started working full-time, earning roughly £14,000/year, with a contract running until April. I applied for Working Tax Credit, and I was paid around £50/week. I'm assuming that that must have been based on my not earning anything during the previous tax year.
Then in April my contract was extended to September, and my salary increased to around £17,000/year, so I rang the Tax Credits people to inform them of the change.
My Tax Credits then went down from around £50/week to around £7/week, and I assume that the reason for such a big drop was because of the salary increase.
Even so, I rang them to make sure that was right. As far as I can tell (the person on the phone wasn't very helpful), my Tax Credits claim is probably based on me earning £17,000 from April 2013 to April 2014, rather than from April 2012 to September 2013, and so I wasn't sure if I should base my claim on my contract ending in September 2013.
I asked the woman on the phone if I should do that, and she said that I could if I wanted to (and presumably my payments would then increase), but she said that I could then be in dander of being overpaid, should my contract be extended. So then I said to her, if I leave things as they are, then my contract ends in September, wouldn't I be owed extra money, and would I be able to get it? And she said that once I was unemployed, I wouldn't be entitled any more.
So now I'm not sure if I should leave my claim as it is, and then if I get a month's notice of my contract ending in September, then ring the Tax Credits people and see if I can get any extra money out of them, or if I should change my claim based on my contract ending in September, and risk being overpaid.
I know that I was over the earning threshold in the first place, and I was surprised that I would be getting any Tax Credits after the pay increase, but seeing as I am still getting something, I'd like to try and make sure it's the right amount.
Does anyone know what I should do?