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Tax Credits
Child Tax Credit (CTC)
CTC is financial support for children paid to the main carer. Nine out of ten families with children will be eligible for this tax credit. It is paid to families both in and out of work. Extra CTC is paid to families with a child under the age of one.
Working Tax Credit (WTC)
WTC is financial support for lower paid workers paid through your wage packet. You do not have to have children to qualify for WTC,
- if you do not have children you must be aged at least 25 and work at least 30 hours a week
- if you do have children you can claim from the age of 16, and you must work at least 16 hours a week to qualify.
WTC can help with the costs of registered childcare. You will be 'treated as working' during ordinary maternity leave, as long as you were working at least 16 hours a week on average before you started your leave.
How much is it?
It depends what your income is, how many children you have, how old they are, and whether you pay for registered childcare. The Working Tax Credit is means tested.
Applications are based on income for the previous tax year but can be revised if your income falls during the year of the award, for example, because you go on maternity leave.
Any Child Benefit, Maternity Allowance or the first £100 a week of Statutory Maternity Pay you are receiving is ignored in working out your family income. Any child maintenance you receive is also ignored, so if you apply for Tax Credits you do not have to fill in forms for the Child Support Agency as you are asked to do with some benefits.
What if my circumstances change?
Awards are made for a year at a time, but will respond to certain changes in circumstance during that time. You must notify the Inland Revenue within three months if your household circumstances change, or your childcare costs are reduced or stop. Any increase or reduction in entitlement will be backdated to the date of the change. Check your award notice for income changes that could affect your award. Report any rise in annual income of more than £2,500 to avoid an overpayment at the end of the year.
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