Working tax credit

Contents
1. Who is eligible? 2. How much do you get? 3. How it's paid 4. How to claim 5. What to do if your circumstances change 6. How to appeal

You may get Working Tax Credit if you work enough hours a week but are on a low income. Extra money is available if you pay for childcare, work 30 or more hours a week, are disabled or aged 50 or over and returning to work after being on benefit.

To claim Working Tax Credit, you have to be aged 16 or over, work for 16 hours or more a week and at least one of the following:

• Be responsible for a child or qualifying young person
• Have a disability
• Be aged 25 or over and usually working at least 30 hours a week
• Be aged 50 or over and are going back to work after being on out of work benefits

Tax credits are based on your household circumstances, so you'll need to give information that includes:

• Your income and the number of hours you usually work a week
• The income of your partner or civil partner (if you have one) and the number of hours they work a week
• Any benefits you're getting
• The number and ages of children in your family
• The amount you spend each week on childcare

The amount of Working Tax Credit you get depends on various things including your annual income. Payment is made up of different elements:

Working Tax Credit elements	Maximum amount for the 2009-2010 tax year
Basic element paid to everyone who is entitled to receive Working Tax Credit	£1,890
Second adult element	£1,860
Lone parent element	£1,860
An element payable if you work 30 hours or more per week	£775
Disability element	£2,530
Severe disability element	£1075
An element payable if you're 50 or over and returning to work	£1,300 (if you're working between 16 and 29 hours per week) £1,935 (if you're working over 30 hours per week)
A childcare element, where you can get back up to 80 per cent of your costs for qualifying childcare	£175 maximum eligible cost per week if you're paying for one child £300 maximum eligible cost per week if you're paying for two or more children

If you have young children or children in full-time education you may be entitled to Child Tax Credit.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will pay Working Tax Credit by Direct Payment to your bank, building society, Post Office® account or National Savings account. The payments will be made either weekly or every four weeks.

If you're part of a couple or civil partnership and you both work at least 16 hours a week, you can decide who'll get the Working Tax Credit payments.

HMRC pays the childcare element of Working Tax Credit directly to the main carer for all the children in the family, along with Child Tax Credit.

Post and phone

To claim tax credits you have to fill in a claim form.

You can order a claim pack over the phone by calling one of the helplines.

If you live in England, Scotland or Wales call 0845 300 3900, textphone 0845 300 3909.

If you live in Northern Ireland, call 0845 603 2000, textphone 0845 607 6078.

Lines are open every day from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm.

Or you can pick up a claim pack from your nearest HMRC Enquiry Centre or Jobcentre Plus.

You can fill the form in yourself and send it back by post. If you need any help completing the form you can call the Tax Credit Helpline who will be happy to provide further advice.

If you claim other benefits, such as Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker's Allowance, your Jobcentre Plus - or in Northern Ireland, a Social Security office - will help you with your tax credits claim form.

If you get Working Tax Credit you should tell HMRC when your circumstances change. If you don’t, you may not get all of the money you’re entitled to, or if you get too much, you may have to pay some back.

You can tell the Tax Credit Office about any change in circumstance by contacting the Tax Credit Helpline on 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909 (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, seven days a week except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day).

If you're abroad you can also contact the Tax Credit Office on + 44 289 053 8192.

If you're refused Working Tax Credit, you think your tax credits have been calculated wrongly or you have a penalty you disagree with, you should begin by contacting the HMRC complaints manager setting out the details of your complaint and how you would like it to be resolved.

If you’re still unhappy with the outcome, you can ask them to look at your complaint again. They will:

• Take a fresh look at it and how they've handled it
• Give you a final decision

You can do this in writing, by phone or you can ask the person you've been dealing with to do it for you.

If these steps don’t resolve your problem, you can appeal to the Adjudicator.

The Adjudicator is an independent referee and can be contacted at:

The Adjudicator's Office

8th Floor

Euston Tower

286 Euston Road

London

NW1 3US

Tel 0300 057 1111 or 020 7667 1832

Fax 0300 057 1212 or 020 7667 1830

Finally, if you’re still dissatisfied you can take the matter up with the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Contact your MP and get him to refer the matter to the Ombudsman.

For more information:

• Visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website
• Call the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Helpline on Tel 0345 015 4033
• Send a fax on 0300 061 4000
• Send an email to phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

You can also ask your MP to take up your case with HMRC or Treasury Ministers.