Work / Benefit Changes (Introduction)

This section of the Manual provides guidance on what you should do when a claimant informs you of

• A change to their work details - a work history change

Or

• A relevant change to their benefit details - a benefit history change

Work history changes

A relevant work history change is a change to the information that was given on the original claim for Working Tax Credit ( WTC) which could affect the amount of tax credits paid to the claimant. For example, if a claimant has ended their employment and has started another job, this is a work history change.

A work history change must be made on the computer, resulting in a change to the amount of tax credits paid.

A work history change relating to a pre award claim cannot be made until the claim has been awarded. When the claim becomes post award an entry will be created on the ‘Unprocessed Change Of Circs’ Work List. Using this Work List as a prompt, the cases will then be reviewed and the actual amendments made to the claim.

It is important that you determine what type of amendment is required to ensure that the claimant receives the correct amount of tax credits at the right time.

A claimant may request that their claim for tax credits be calculated using their current year (CY) income. Initially tax credits will be calculated using the previous year (PY) (or PY minus 1) income. This may not fully reflect their present or new circumstances and may result in an over or underpayment at the end of the year. For tax credits to be calculated using the CY income, follow the guidance in Income Changes.

Benefit history changes

A relevant benefit history change is a change to the information that was given on the original or a previous claim for tax credits which could affect the amount of tax credits paid to the claimant. For example, if a claimant has ended their employment and has started Income Support, this is a benefit history change.

A benefit history change must be made on the computer, resulting in a change to the amount of tax credits paid.

Note: Before making any changes, you must follow the guidance in Establish If A Change Can Be Made