Manual Calculation Of A WTC / CTC Claim Requiring Backdating To An Earlier Date (Info)


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Where a claimant requests that their claim to tax credits is paid from an earlier date, because

  • They made an earlier claim

Or

  • They state their claim should have started from an earlier date

You must

  • Determine whether the claimant has grounds for backdating. In order to resolve these cases, follow the guidance in Establishing Evidence Of An Earlier Claim and Backdating Claims – General
     

  • Any new requests for backdating from an asylum seeker who has been granted refugee status should be sent, with a completed TC648 and any relevant documents, to

    Persons From Abroad Team
    (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

If you determine that the claimant has grounds for backdating, you must establish whether you can use Function AMEND EFFECTIVE DATE to backdate the claim or whether you must do this manually

  • For cases where you can backdate the claim on the computer, follow the guidance in Amend Effective Date
     
  • For cases which cannot be backdated on the computer and require manual backdating, you will need to use this guidance to make an off system manual calculation and arrange for a manual cashcheque to be issued to the claimant

Examples of cases which require manual backdating are

  • Claims where you are backdating to a date older than PY
     
  • Claims where the whole award is being paid manually
     
  • Backdating refugee claims

This list is not exhaustive

Note: Where the total award calculated for the tax year falls below the de minimus limit of £26 .00 then this should not be paid as part of the manual payment

The legislation refers to backdating up to a maximum of 3 months. When a claim is captured and automatically calculated on the computer, the calculation is made by counting back 93 days. This should not be confused with applying a change of circumstances in Function AMEND APPLICATION where the 3 month backdating rule actually refers to 3 calendar months. Calculation of the 3-month date, where a manual calculation is being made, should be based on the actual 3-month date in line with tax credits legislation.

Note: Before following this guidance, ensure that you have access to SEES. You can access SEES by opening Microsoft (MS) Excel and looking for SEES on the menu bar. If it is not there, contact your local Information Technology Support Officer (ITSO) to arrange for SEES to be installed on your desktop computer. All fields can be selected using the mouse or Tab key on the keyboard

Backdating claims where there is a benefit interest

Before you can make an off system manual calculation, you must have established whether payment can be made in cases where the claimant had a benefit interest at the original date of claim. A benefit interest will occur where

  • The claimant and / or partner was in receipt of Income Support ( IS), Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income Based) ( JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance ( ESA) or Pension Credit ( PC) at the original date of claim

Or

  • The claimant and / or partner had recently come off benefit and started work

Note: Start or end dates for ESA cannot be earlier than 27/10/2008

Whether the backdating request for claims with a benefit interest can be allowed is dependent upon a number of issues that must be clarified before the request can be accepted. These are

  • Whether entitlement existed at the date the request is made for
     
  • The tax year in which the request falls or will backdate into
     
  • Whether enquiries are required to establish whether a child premium has been paid by DWP / DSD as part of an IS, JSA or PC claim. CTC cannot be backdated to a period where child premium has been paid

Note: Child premium is not paid as part of ESA claims

You must have confirmed both entitlement and, where necessary received confirmation of the child premium paid before continuing. Follow the guidance in Backdating Claims Where A Benefit Interest Is Present

Backdating request made in respect of a same sex couple

In the case of a claim from a same sex couple, the claim cannot be backdated for a period before 05/12/2005, the date the Civil Partnership Act comes into force.

The computer will not automatically backdate for a period before 05/12/2005 when a joint claim has been made by a same sex couple. No manual calculation in respect of backdating should be made for any period before 05/12/2005

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