TCTM01005 - Overview and Purpose

The purpose of CTC and WTC together

The system of support provided by CTC and WTC is designed to deliver:

• A secure stream of income for families with children which does not depend on the employment status of the parents, creating a stable income bridge when families move into work;
• Help to tackle poor work incentives and persistent poverty among working people;
• A system in which all support for children is paid direct to the main carer - usually the mother - in line with Child Benefit;
• A common framework for assessment, so that all families are part of the same system;
• An annual system, under which awards run in line with the tax year;
• A modern income test, which brings the definition of income for tax credits more closely into line with tax; and
• A responsive system, in which a family's tax credit award can be adjusted to reflect changes in a family's income and circumstances.

The system responds to all falls in income in the current tax year, compared with last, but only responds to rises in income of more than £25,000, so that recipients do not see their tax credit for the current tax year reduce as soon as their income rises.