Sunday is the day to claim the tax credits you are due

On Sunday 6 April the rates of tax credits are increased and thousands of Usdaw’s members can claim for the first time.

Even if you don’t have children you may be able to claim. To check, download Usdaw’s handy tables from the website:

http://www.usdaw.org.uk/usdaw/news/files/WTCclaimTable.pdf

You can claim tax credits if you don’t have children if you are aged over 25, working at least 30 hours a week on average, and if you are on a low income of less than:

• £245 a week (£12,740 a year) if you are single
• £330 a week (£17,160) joint income if you are in a couple.

• £438 a week (£22,800 a year) if you have one child
• £541 a week (£28,150 a year) if you have two children
• £644 a week (33,500 a year) if you have 3 children.

If you think that you could qualify, you can claim online at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/index.htm

Or call the helpline on 0845 300 3900 straight away as your claim dates from the time that you call or claim online, so the earlier you do this, the more you can claim.

No more repayments. You may have read in the papers about people having to pay back their tax credits because their income had gone up a little bit. The Government has stopped this happening in the future. You will only be asked to repay tax credits if your pay increases by more than £25,000 per year (we should be so lucky!). So you can now claim with confidence.

So as long as you call the helpline straight away to tell them if your circumstances change (if you move in with a partner, or if one of your children leaves childcare etc), you shouldn’t be stung for a repayment after the end of the tax year.

Any questions? The organisation Working Families has a free helpline with independent experts to give advice on claiming tax credits. If you have any questions or want some advice before claiming, you can call them on 0800 013 0313 or visit the website:

http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/asp/family_zone/f_tax_credit.asp

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, Cherry Hamilton, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail cherry.hamilton@usdaw.org.uk
• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fourth biggest trade union, with over 359,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.
• Subscribe/unsubscribe to Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

Download File:
Working Tax Credits claim table [ pdf ]

Contact Details
Media and Communications Department
Ph:  0161 224 2804
Fax: 0161 249 2490
Email: womenandequalities@usdaw.org.uk
Web: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news/

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