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No Child tax credits for special needs twins age 8
Rcarter
Member Posts: 3 Listener
I have not received any child tax credits since July 2015 for my twins age 8 who has short life expectancy due to the fact that myself and dad split up years ago but both needed to be in boys life on daily basis due to the complex needs and care both require.Basically they say I'm not single even though we don't or have not had a sexual relationship for near enough 8 yrs. Our relationship is purely platonic as if we didn't work together then both boys would no doubt be separated and placed in the care of social services. HMRC does not care about the seriousness of their disabilities and that every day is a god sent .
Replies
Hi Rcarter
Are HMRC saying that you are still part of a couple and therefore taking your ex-partner's income into account and saying you no longer qualify for child tax credits because your income is too high?
If this is the case then you can challenge the decision however there are strict time-limits for doing this. You have 30 days from the date on the award notice to request a mandatory reconsideration which is when you are asking HMRC to look again at their decision. The time limit can be extended but you will need to have a good reason and not knowing or ignorance is sadly not one of them. The form you need to complete to request this is available here but given that you have said that you have not received any child tax credits since July 2015 it is over a year since a decision was made and therefore it is unlikely that a mandatory reconsideration request would be accepted so far outside of the 30 day time limit.
Another option is to make a new claim to tax credits as a single person and if it is refused for the same reason then request a mandatory reconsideration within 30 days of receiving the decision.
Finally the issue of whether you are a couple for benefit purposes is one that is often not as clear cut as HMRC or The DWP like to make out, particularly when people who were previously a couple continue living in the same house but maintain separate households. A number of factors need to be considered, are you or were you married? Are you divorced? A sexual relationship is not definitive by itself and other factors include things such as how the bills are paid, bank accounts, financial arrangements, meals taken, clothes washed , how you are viewed by other people, how you spend your time, this list is not exhaustive.
I hope that helps and please post back here if you have any more questions.
Best wishes
Paul
I wonder if this is to do with the problems related to a company called Concentrix which you may have heard about in the news. See this article in the Independent for example. If so you might like to contact your MP for help.
David
Thank you David much appreciated .Rach