CSA and ex's tax credits.

Hiya all,

I have previously posted regarding using the CSA, I decided to keep it amicable and not use them.

Now however things have changed and I have decided to use them (he has a new job, has decided to drop seeing the children every week and so I have lost all trust!!)

My question is, has anyone any experience with the CSA taking into consideration the ex's family tax credits as income??

I am really worried that when I go to the CSA, he will not include the tax credits his partner claims for their son as income, and worse, the CSA will not recognise it as income.

Each time I ring the CSA they give me a different answer as to whether they will include it.

Any help gratefully recieved.

C x

Hi Mrs

The way the CSA will work in this case is the first 15% of his net income in not included in the assesment.

Example
Net income £300p/w - the first 15%
Net income after 15% deduction £255 p/w
20% of £255 = £50p/w

There child tax credit should then be used in the calculation which makes it seems a really pointless excerise of deducting x amount in the first place for relevant other children.They can find out how much he is getting for CTC by calling Inland Revenue.

I don't understand this. The ex husbond's partner is claiming child tax credits, then surely it is her income not his. Might as well bung in child benefit as well in that case.
Am I missing something.

As they live together it will be a joint claim for CTC not a single claim .

Joint claim, but usually payment goes to the mother. Should it therefore be counted as her income. Surely it can only be counted by the person actually receiving it.
Also, I have having this arguement with my ex's legal team.
They picked from bank statements that the payment was £x per week, multiplied it by 52 then said why wasn't the annual figure what they calculated and not the one I put on my form E. Well the figure they used was only for a 26 week period, not 52 and following the annual statement in July they reduced the weekly amount by £17 per week and therefore I used the correct figure, well correct until July 2009, when it is verified ie 52x the lower weekly figure, not 52x the higher figure.
The point that I am making is that CTC is a guess until the final figure is decided after April 2009.
How then can the CSA make an assessment against something that may be an overpayment.
I got stitched up like this in 2004 following overpayment of CTC.
The DWP were recovering overpaid JSA based on the overpaid CTC at the same time that the tax office were recovering the overpayment of CTC.
Talk about getting kicked twice over by different Government departments

It is usually paid to the mother but it is based on both thier incomes.
When you live or are married to someone you both need to sign the the awards notice or indeed notify inland revenue a change in circumstances.

If you read your award notice it is actually based on the last financial year so therefore Apr 07-Apr 08
Always the previous yr .

Are you sure that is correct, that is not my undertstanding. Mine is a new claim anyway. Personally I would trust HMR&C to make a cup of tea and get it right.
My payments from April though to July 2008 were £18 per week too high as they were the 08/07 amount paid until they got the 07/08 return. The 08/07 figure was at best a guess as it was a new claim, well they called it a new claim, as far as I was concerned it was exactly the same claim but as a single parent, not a joint claim and the ex had no income so it had no material affect.
Ex's solicitor is still trying to claim that I should have put 52x the 07/08 figure on the Form E for the income from Aug 08 going forward.
It is my understanding that if my income changes this year I need to notify them otherwise I could be over or underpaid.
Now if the CSA made an assessment based on a weekly figure that is incorrect and you subsequently have to repay CTC can you claim something back from the CSA.
I have to say I hate CTC because you never know whether the money is acually yours to spend or not because if they mis calculate you have to pay it all back.