In this section:
Tax credit fraud
We take the issue of tax credit fraud very seriously and aim to run a tax credits system that you can trust to support you.
What we're doing to stop fraud
We work hard to protect you and the system against the risk of fraud by:
- regularly checking the details given on claim forms
- checking with childcare providers that the details given are right
- working closely with organisations like the Department for Work and Pensions, the Police, and the Immigration Service
- working closely with the British Banking Association to find bank accounts that are being used for tax credit fraud
When we work with other organisations, we make sure that we comply with data protection laws.
Types of fraud investigations
When we discover a case of fraud we can:
- charge a financial penalty
- prosecute
There are two types of investigation we can use to deal with tax credit fraud:
- civil investigations
- criminal investigations
Civil investigations
The aim of a civil investigation is to get back any tax credits payments that have been falsely claimed through fraud, along with any interest. We'll also charge a financial penalty. A civil investigation does not prosecute.
We'll offer a person the chance to co-operate with us and tell us all the facts. This is known as making a full disclosure. To encourage someone to co-operate with us, we'll consider lowering their penalty. The amount we'll lower it by depends on why the penalty's being charged:
- if it's for giving us wrong information we'll reduce it by up to 50 per cent
- if it's for not telling us about a change in circumstances, the amount we'll reduce it by depends on if it's the first time it's happened and the amounts involved
When we're sure the person responsible has told all the facts about the fraud, we'll work out how much they have to pay us.
Criminal investigations
We try to deal with tax credit fraud using civil investigations whenever possible. We'll only use criminal investigations in very serious cases where:
- we want to send a strong message to stop other people from trying the same thing
- the person has acted in a way that makes a criminal investigation the only option
Serious cases include:
- organised tax credit fraud
- where false statements have been made
- where fake documents have been given to us
- where people claiming tax credit have hidden information from us, or misled us on purpose
- where someone's carried out the same type of offence before
- where there's proof our staff have been assaulted or threatened
- where people have pretended to be our employees
