CCM1050 – Overview: Claims
and Notifiable Changes of Circumstances before 6 April 2007
Claims for tax credits have to be made annually. The amount
of the final award will take account of the claimant’s
circumstances over the course of the year, not just at the
beginning. Claimants are required to tell us in-year about some
changes of circumstances that may affect the amount of the award.
Changes of circumstances relating to the child care costs
must be notified during the year if there is a change in the
relevant child care charges where the average weekly, relevant
child care charges (see
CCM6315 for details of how to calculate
the average weekly childcare costs):
- are less than the average weekly charge by
£10.00 a week or more
- are nil
Claimants are also required to tell us if:
- they become, or cease to be, a member of a
couple
- they (or their partner) leave the UK
permanently, or go abroad for more than 8 weeks (12 weeks if they
remain abroad because they are ill or because a member of their
family is ill or has died)
Claimants have three months to tell us about these changes from
the date the change took place. If they don’t tell us in time
we can charge a penalty, see
CCM10000 for more information on
penalties.
From 1 November 2006 claimants must also tell us if
- their usual working hours change so that
they work less than 16 or 30 hours a week. For couples with
children it is their joint working hour that count towards the 30
hours
- they have been on strike for more than 10
days
- one of their children leaves the family
and moves to live with someone else. This includes a child who has
been:
- taken into care or fostered to another family
- found guilty by a court and sentenced to custody
or detention for a period of 4 months or more
- a child or young person they are
responsible for stops qualifying for support, for example the child
or young person:
- leaves non-advanced full-time education or
approved training before they reach 20
- starts to have their training provided under a
contract of employment
- stops being registered with a careers service , or
the Connexions Service or equivalent
- starts to claim Income Support, Incapacity
Benefit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Tax Credit
or Working Tax Credit in their own right
- dies.
From 1 November 2006 there is a change in the time limit for
telling us about a notifiable change of circumstance. From 1
November claimants must tell us within 3 months of the date:
- on which the change of circumstances
occurred, or
- the claimant first became aware of the
change of circumstances if this is later
Any overpaid tax credits will still be calculated from the date
the change happened.
For example if a claimant’s usual working hours dropped
to less than 30 hours on the 12 November, but because the number of
hours they work each week varies so much that they did not realise
until 2 December that there had been a change:
- they will have 3 months from the 2
December to report the change
- their award will be adjusted to reflect
their new usual hours from 12 November and they will have to repay
any overpaid tax credits.
If the claimant does not tell us within the time limit we can
charge a penalty, see
CCM10000 for more information on
penalties.
