Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

As part of the 'Move to UC' process, HMRC send the DWP the earned income figure that they are using to calculate the claimant's Tax Credit entitlement. I am looking for guidance, documents, training materials etc relating to the following -

A) If a member of staff ever chooses which income (ie PY or CY) to send or checks what is being sent to the DWP, what guidance do they follow?

B) If a Tax Credit claimant reports an in-year change of income, what guidance is followed by staff when recording this change?

C) What income is used to calculate provisional Tax Credit payments at the start of a new tax year?

Yours faithfully,

Rachel Service

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and Customs's handling of my FOI requests 'Income for Tax Credits' and the follow-up FOI2024/00044.

The response to my initial FOI (FOI2023/97050) was not satisfactory. I asked for 'guidance, documents, training materials etc' but the response did not include anything to back-up the information being given. Taking two of the questions I asked in turn -
A) The response says, this 'will be the PY income' . This appears to contradict Regs / guidance and I think it is a matter of public interest to clarify whether this statement is true. The UC(TP) Regs 2014 54(C)(i) states that the income figure used should be the 'amount of earnings by reference to which the monthly representative monthly rate of that benefit (Tax Credits) was calculated'. TCTM07042 clearly indicates that CY income can be used to calculate Tax Credits - the second examples states 'CY income is more than £2,500 higher than PY income therefore the CY income minus £2,500 is used.' Taken together, this suggests that HMRC will some times need to send the DWP the CY income (with or without the disregard applied - the Regs aren't clear on this). Please clarify this point - preferably with some internal guidance or document.

B) Though I'm sure it is a 'straightforward process for advisers', there is presumably some internal guidance or training materials that tell them how to do this (e.g., for new staff). Note - this was the topic of my follow-up FOI (FOI2024/00044) and the links given in response were not relevant to the question. Please provide the relevant documents.

A full history of my FOI request (FOI2023/97050) and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

And FOI2024/00044 is copied below (note - correspondence was via email)
Thank you for the response to my FOI (ref - FOI2023/97050) - however I am not happy with the level of detail given. Specifically, to B. I understand that an advisor will update the claimant's Tax Credit record, but I was looking for guidance / training materials on exactly how this is done. For context, a member of HMRC staff said in a stakeholder meeting that when a claimant reports a change in income for the current tax year, it is the PY figure that is changed. As this seems counterintuitive, I am looking for guidance that confirms or denies this. So, I am looking for guidance / documents relating to the process of how a change in income is reported if this is available or relating to how staff can check a claimant's income if asked.

HMRC response -
Our previous response explained the process that is followed when a customer notifies of an in-year change in circumstances. The links below will take you to the relevant guidance:
• TCTM05200 - Changes in circumstances: Changes in circumstances that should be notified (non-mandatory) - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• TCM0342000 - Stopping tax credits: change of circumstances: contents - HMRC in-ternal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you are not satisfied with our reply, you may request a review within 40 working days of receiving this letter by emailing [email address] or by writing to our address at the top.
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Yours sincerely,
HM Revenue and Customs

Yours faithfully,

Rachel Service