HMRC Case Study

‘Advice NI were contacted by a client who was a single parent and seeking advice on whether they had continued entitlement to Working Tax Credit working 16hrs per week, or if they needed to claim Universal Credit.

Client’s 16yr old child had left secondary education and was entering full time further education at a local college, client had assumed they would no longer satisfy the criteria for Working Tax Credit as a single parent and enquired how many hours they would need to work to continue to be entitled to this.

Client had also ignored letters from HMRC regarding their Child Benefit (CB) as they believed they were no longer entitled to this now that their child had left secondary school.

Advice NI enquired as to what course their 16yr old child was enrolled in and was able to advise client, that the child’s course was considered to be Approved Education/qualifying course, therefore the client would still satisfy the criteria of 16hrs per week for Working Tax Credit, have entitlement to Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit.

Client advised depending on their child’s course/s, they could remain entitled to both Child Tax Credits and Child Benefit up until the child’s 20th birthday.

Advice NI assisted client with contacting HMRC Enhanced Support Services to advise of the circumstances regarding their 16yr old remaining in Approved Education, requested if both Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit could be continued and also requested if HMRC Enhanced Support Services could update Child Benefit with this information. 

Without the advice of Advice NI, client would not have known they had continued entitlement to Tax Credits and Child Benefit.

This case highlights the importance of Advice NI’s advice, their assistance to client and the access to HMRC Enhanced Services in supporting clients.’

 

Welfare Line:

Since June 2022 we have dealt with over 3400 queries and 1800 individual clients. As the cost of living crisis continues to impact people across NI, we are seeing an increase in calls to our helpline. More than ever people are requesting benefit entitlement checks to ensure they are in receipt of all the benefits they are entitled to. We have also seen an increase in the number of people asking for support with food and referrals to the Trussell Trust and other food banks have increased. As we move into the winter months we envisage demand to increase further.