Working Tax Credits Help needed

[Kassee]

If someone has been on working tax credits and they want to stop claiming for various reasons - is there a best time to stop claiming. If you were to stop in "for example" January - would you have to pay back some of the money you had received but if you were to stop in "for example" May then you would not need to pay back any money - something to do with April being the beg of the new tax year.

Working tax credits is very complicated.

[cathfromsaron]

you need to inform them of changes lasting 4 weeks or more! or likely to last 4 weeks or more!

[themas]

I don't think there is a best time. You shouldn't have to pay anything back provided you haven't been overpaid, unless they have a payment going through the pipeline when you tell them to stop & they can't withhold it - in that case you would have to return the last payment or part of it.

They will always have to process a final decision on the claim, which can't be done till after the end of the tax year concerned & it won't be until that is done that you will know definitely whether anything has to be paid back. The annual declaration will have to be completed in order for them to do the final decision.

I'm not sure that they have any simple process to terminate a claim if you still have an entitlement - you can only ask & see what happens.

[jilly55]

dont think it makes a difference when you stop claiming, but be sure to let them know you need to fill in a form to let them know. I didnt know this and just stopped claiming. That was in 2008, last month i received a letter saying i had een overpaid more than £600 in tax credits because i hadnt filled in the form,so had to pay back al monies from that claim!!! I was horrified.