Calculate And Remit An Overpayment - For Cases Suspended On Or After 30/10/06 (Info)

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Enquiry Centres, Contact Centres or Debt Management and Banking (DMB) will make a referral to the Tax Credit Office ( TCO) or provide the claimant with a Code of Practice 26 (COP 26) ‘What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?’ and form TC846 ‘Request to reconsider recovery of overpaid tax credits’, when a claimant asks about one of the following

• They have been informed of an adjustment to their regular payments of tax credits
   
• They have been notified of an overpayment of tax credits that is being recovered

And, the Enquiry Centre, Contact Centre or DMB advisor

• Has been unable to identify a reason for the overpayment to the claimant
   
• Has been informed by the claimant that they do not agree that recovery of the overpayment is appropriate

A new award notice will be issued to the claimant(s) whenever there is an adjustment to their regular payments or there is an overpayment to be recovered following finalisation of the award.

A claimant may contact you in writing to query an overpayment. You must ensure you have all the information you need on the correspondence. If you do not, you must issue a COP 26 ‘What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?’ and the form TC846 ‘Request to reconsider recovery of overpaid tax credits’ before making any decision to remit or recover the overpayment.

For information on how the computer will recover

• An in year adjustment, follow the guidance in How Payments Are Profiled
   
• A cross year adjustment, follow the guidance in How Payments Are Profiled

During your investigation of an overpayment you will be directed to one or more of the following instructions

• Managing Correspondence Identified As Renewals Terminated
   
• Make Or Cancel A Remission
   
• COP 26 Responsibilities

You will then either

• Carry out remission of all or part of the overpayment

Or

• Reinstate recovery of the overpayment

Note: If Compliance are carrying out the investigation, they will follow the guidance in Make or Cancel Remission in the Claimant Compliance Operational Manual at CCOM25510

If there is more than one reason for the overpayment you must determine if the amount should or should not be recovered for each reason.