A question about : Child tax credit limit reduced to Ј26,000
This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:
About a million letters with wrong information on child tax credits have been sent, which could put off claimants ...
Read the full story:
HMRC sends wrong benefits warning to 1m families
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Received today letter from HMR&C saying that from April 2012 Child Tax Credits will no longer be paid if household income is in excess of Ј26k (Ј500 per week) & they have 1 child.
This cap has been kept quiet by the media and politicians, and I find it appalling.
Personally, my income is Ј26,700 and since 2009 our household income has reduced by 40%. I have worked for a retail bank for 30 years and receive no bonus, despite the opinion of the media. My wife is unable to find work after having lost her part time job because of the recession. Like millions of working people I pay several thousands of pounds in tax and national insurance every year. My wife has also paid tax and national insurance for over 20 years, and does not claim any welfare benefit.
There has been a lot of publicity regarding capping welfare benefits at Ј500 per week. Why should their income of Ј500 per week be tax free whilst my income of Ј500 per week is taxable. Surely all benefits should be liable to income tax.
Presumably there are thousands of households who will be badly affected by losing their Child Tax Credit in April 2012.
Best answers:
- HMRC has no money for advertising. There are massive massive massive changes coming in over the next year to the PAYE system as it gears up for Universal Credit, very little advertising has been done. When I went to a training session about it last year the guy from HMRC asked how best to communicate these changes to the public and small employers and we said newspaper and television, but he told us they do not have the money! This is going to be a diasaster! I'm considering a career change!
- I have also had a letter today, I was a bit shocked as looking on the website it doesnt say anything about the Ј26K cutoff with 1 child. We are just over this threshold both work full time and I am really annoyed if this is the case as although it's only Ј10 a week it's a massive Ј545 per year which buys my daughter clothes and dancing classes and anything else she needs for school, nothing has been said about this. This just isn't fair
- It's not just those on benefits who are having their incomes cut. We don't receive tax credits, but DH who is self-employed, is struggling in the current climate. Just like everyone else, we're having to make sacrifices. Someone who is only going to be Ј10 a week worse off won't have to make as many cuts as we've had to.
- Now I remember why I don't post on here, it's full of people who offer little support and advice and just take pleasure in sniping at posts.
- It is the way that the change has been worded that means it is taking everyone by surprise.
The government announced that in 2011 the earnings limit was reduced from 50k to 40k and everyone thought yes well 50k is too much to get benefit and took no notice. Then, rather than saying in 2012 the earnings limit will be reduced to 25k, which might have snapped some heads up, the government announced that in 2012 the earnings limit will be removed and tax credits will be reduced accordingly. Most people would not realise the implications of this, and indeed it is only by doing a calculation that this becomes evident.
These changes were made in the Emergency Budget & Spending Review in 2010 which at the time announced changes up to 3 years head so people sort of dealt with the immediate changes, panicked about universal credit and overlooked the stringent cuts inbetween. - what happens if u have more than 1 child?
- https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTax...dits/DG_194914
- thankyou for that link xylophone..seems we wont have to worry as hubby works 36 hours and earns less than Ј26000 and we have 3 children
- All I'll say is, you ain't seen nothing yet folks!!!
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