Tax Credit Claim Forms: avoiding common errors
Tax Credit Claim Forms: avoiding common errors
Introduction
It is extremely frustrating when workers face delays in receiving their Working or Child Tax Credit. Low paid workers with no money to spare can experience terribly high stress levels waiting for the tax credits they are counting on.
Very often this happens because avoidable mistakes have been made in filling in the claim form. This briefing, which uses information from HM Revenue and Customs, is designed to assist union officials and advisers in TUC Unemployed Workers' Centres, by advising on how to avoid some of the most common errors that lead to delays in processing claim forms. This briefing refers to the questions on HMRC's form Tax credits claim [TC600], and you might also find it useful to use their booklet How to complete your tax credits claim form [TC600 Notes], which is available on the web, at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/menus/tc600-notes-06.pdf
In the text that follows, the errors are listed in bold, and the action that should be taken follows.
Income - the estimate/actual income boxes are not completed (or both are completed)
5.7 is a yes/no question - you must tick either 'yes' or 'no'. For couples, if the answer is 'Yes' for one and 'No' for the other, then tick 'Yes'.
Bank details
You must give full and accurate details of your bank account in the boxes - it will be hard to pay you otherwise! If you aren't sure about the answers, the information required should be on your chequebook or bank statements.
Work - boxes are incomplete
You must answer questions 4.1, 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, 4.11 and 4.12.
Only answer 'Yes' to question 4.1 ('Do you usually work in the United Kingdom?') if -
- You and/or your partner is currently working, or
- You intend to start working within 7 days of making the claim.
Question 4.5 (about number of jobs) needs to be answered even if you and/or your partner is self employed. Each business a self-employed person runs counts as one job.
Name and Date of Birth
Claims can be delayed if HMRC already holds your or your partner's or your children's names (from an earlier TC claim, for instance) and these have changed, or if you spell them slightly differently.
When you enter date of birth details on the form it is important to print all the numbers clearly, so that they do not look like other numbers - for example 1 and 7, 4 and 9, and 0 and 6.
National Insurance numbers
Make sure you give your (and your partner's) NI number in full and accurately (if you have one.) You can find your NI number on payslips or NI cards.
Signatures
It sounds obvious, but make sure you have signed the form before you send it in. If you are making a joint claim you'll need your partner's signature as well.
Household changes
It can take HMRC longer to process claims where there has been
- a joint claim, but the parties to it are no longer together, or
- a single claim and the individual finds a partner, and
a new claim is made before they have been told that the old one needs to be ended due to the household change.
Thank you
The TUC is very grateful to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for permission to use the information in this briefing.
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