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Working Family Tax Credit/ Tax Credit Migration

AdviceShop
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Advice shop - West Lothian Council

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Total Posts: 85

Joined: 24 June 2010

Can anyone advise if there was any protection period for people previously claiming Incapacity Benefit prior to them starting work in 1997?

My client is no longer in receipt of Incapacity Benefit or Disability Living Allowance but qualified for the disability element with her initial claim for working tax credits when starting work. The element has been contiually awarded since the introdution of tax credits and HMRC are now looking for proof of benefits.  This is quite concerning as this may mean a huge overpayment.

Although the rules seem quite clear on losing entitlement to the element if you are no longer in receipt of a qualifying benefit one of our Welfare Rights Officers seems to think applicants were awarded the disability element indefinitely if they were previously in receipt of the Working Families tax Credit.

[ Edited: 30 Nov 2010 at 12:57 pm by AdviceShop ]
Surrey Adviser
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Benefits and debt adviser - Esher CAB, Surrey

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Total Posts: 222

Joined: 17 June 2010

If the IB stopped in 1997 (I am assuming from your post that is what happened) then on what grounds did your client qualify for the disability element when first claiming WTC?

I don’t recall much about WFTC & can’t help with that issue, but if the client did have an entitlement to disability element when first claiming WTC then it could be that the entitlement is continuous provided there has been no break in the WTC itself.  See here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanual/tctm02510.htm  -  the TC Tech. Manual on this issue.  Case G & the note to it is relevant.