Terms & Conditions

[sue232]

Confused!!

If someone is receiving the child care element in their child tax credit award, so tax credits are contributing to the payment of the customers child care costs, are we supposed to be including the child care costs again in the HB/CTB calculation?

If we do, then in effect the customer is gaining twice, as they are receiving help towards their child care costs from tax credits, but are then getting more HB/CTB becuase we are disregarding the CCC from the HB/CTB calculation?

Any clarifcation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Sue 😕

[Anonymous]

Irrespective of the fact that someone is (or is not) getting this element of CTC, if the childcare comes into one of the categories that can be ignored for HB / CTB then we disregard that amount of income. 8)

[sue232]

So are you saying that we should not be including the CCC in the HB/CTB calculation? And under what category would it be ignored.

Do you know the whereabouts of what regs or SI’s this is stated in?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Sorry Sue – expressed myself a bit badly there. 😳
The Child Care componant of Tax Credits is taken into account in full, but actual Child Care costs (up to £175 for one or £300 per week for 2 or more kids) are disregarded. They should be disregarded from the wages of the claimant or partner, but if there are not enough wages, then they can be disregarded from tax credits. That’s if they are under 60.

If over 60, then Child Tax Credit is disregarded, but Working Tax Credit is counted as unearned income

Child Care costs cannot be disregarded from any other unearned income.
As per parts of HB regs 27 and 28, 32 and HB regs 60+ 29 and 32

Hope this expresses better what I was trying to say 8)

[sue232]

No problem, i understand what you saying now, which i am aware of, but the problem is that if the customer is getting the child care element paid with either their WTC or CTC that money is for payments towards their CCC, us at the LA then process the claim, taking the amount of CTC/WTC inc CCE into account as income and then disregarding the CCC off the claim, so in effect the customer is benefiting twice, once from Tax credits (who are paying towards their child care), and then again from the LA as (the CCC are disregarded off their income in turn giving them more HB/CTB). We are just a little confused as to whether this is right, we have always done it that way, but sometimes you sit and think, is this right?!!

Thanks 🙂

[Carol Meredith]

I do not think that the claimant is gaining twice because you have to remember that out of their total income they do still have to pay the childcare costs. We take into account the income they receive from HMRC and disregard the cost of child care.
Eg. HMRC increase tax credit by £25 for child care which costs £100. We add the £25 to their income and disregard £100, but they still get a bill for £100 each week.

Carol

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