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HMRC overpayment following UC Migration
Hi
Client has received an ovepayment for CTC due to the dates she moved over to UC. The timeline is this:
Client paid CTC (which is paid weekly) on 13th August 2024
Client migrated to UC on 15th August 2024 - entitlement ended to CTC on 14th August 2024
HMRC have said they have overpaid her for the 13th August 2024 payment and want this back - is that correct?
Surely if this is even correct as its all done automatically (i.e. the client doesn’t need to notify when they are moving over that this should be squashed on official error grounds)
Thanks
Adam
Like UC, tax credit overpayments can always be recovered whether official error or not (although there is discretion not to recover) so they do have a right to recover.
Don’t have so much practical experience but think this would normally go as an overpayment to be recovered from her UC - others might know better
Like UC, tax credit overpayments can always be recovered whether official error or not (although there is discretion not to recover) so they do have a right to recover.
Don’t have so much practical experience but think this would normally go as an overpayment to be recovered from her UC - others might know better
Thanks Daphne.
I think the appeal on the overpayment would be that up until the day before she moved to UC she was entitled to CTC, if that makes sense?
I understand that official errors will be recovered but hopefully if it did stand we could get them to stop recovery (obviously those are hit and miss!)
Thanks
Oh sorry Adam - I think I didn’t fully get your first post. Yes you are quite right - she should be entitled to CTC up until the day before her UC entitlement starts. So definitely worth checking the overpayment to ensure they have calculated it correctly.
Oh sorry Adam - I think I didn’t fully get your first post. Yes you are quite right - she should be entitled to CTC up until the day before her UC entitlement starts. So definitely worth checking the overpayment to ensure they have calculated it correctly.
Perfect! Thank you.
I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come when people migrate over
Tax Credits don’t work in the same way as other benefits.
Entitlement is calculated over the whole year (generally), and then simply divided up over the number of payment days in the year.
That means that the amount she received on 13th Aug does not relate specifically to the week leading up to the 13th Aug.
Assuming a very straightforward case with maximum entitlement to CTC, and which hasn’t changed during the year, then I would expect her 13th Aug payment to cover until approximately 16th-17th Aug, so it would make sense for an overpayment equivalent to about a third of her 13th Aug payment.
Tax Credits don’t work in the same way as other benefits.
Entitlement is calculated over the whole year (generally), and then simply divided up over the number of payment days in the year.
That means that the amount she received on 13th Aug does not relate specifically to the week leading up to the 13th Aug.
Assuming a very straightforward case with maximum entitlement to CTC, and which hasn’t changed during the year, then I would expect her 13th Aug payment to cover until approximately 16th-17th Aug, so it would make sense for an overpayment equivalent to about a third of her 13th Aug payment.
Hi Charles,
Thanks for the information - does it make a difference that she was being paid “in arrears” or is it literally just whatever the annual amount is divided by the number of payment days (in the case 52 as she is paid weekly)?
Sorry if that is a stupid question, Tax Credits is not my area of expertise.
In a simple case it is just the annual award divided by 52.
However, if the award was ever recalculated midyear (which could happen for many reasons, even for something like a change in bank details, for example), then it won’t be as simple, and it would be more likely that she’d received more money by the 14th Aug than she should have.
Ultimately, the only way to know is by checking the calculation on her latest award notice.