Is SMP and maternity allowance the same when it comes to tax credits?

[BellaBoo0512]

I've been told numerous times that for tax credits earnings the first £100 per week isn't taken as income for tax credits. I rang HMRC today and the guy I spoke to confirmed this.

I gave him my new income with the £100 per week deducted. I know that SMP is paid through your employer and maternity allowance is through the job centre. I didn't qualify for SMP so I get maternity allowance. Am I right to knock the £100 off a week? I'm panicking now incase it's just SMP that this rule applies too.

I receive £136.78 a week...

 

[Pearls18]

I'm not going to be much help but I would imagine it would be the same, I can't see how they could justify doing it for SMP but not MA, even though SMP is paid from the employer they still claim it back from the government. So my hunch would be that it's the same, but maybe ring to double check

 

[BellaBoo0512]

Okay thank you I will try to give them a call later the phone was ringing for 20 mins yesterday and then some automated message said "I'm sorry but we can't take your call at the moment. Please try again later" and cut me off! Sooo annoying! I've been looking on google on various forums and from what I can gather I don't have to declare maternity leave whatsoever but I defo need to confirm this with them. I'm scared of them paying me too much because the guy said yesterday ill get a penalty if I tell them my earnings are less than what they are x

 

[Pearls18]

Dont worry hun if it's an error and you ring up and check and they've paid too much they will just reduce the rest for the year, I didn't realise we were supposed to give pre tax income so I got a massive over payment and didn't click for a month, but I just rang up and changed it and they just "took it back" over the year. Yeah they don't care if you're on maternity leave as you're just classed as working, although I was warned my childcare element credits would need to be stopped when I'm in the unpaid part of maternity leave so I have to ring them then, I don't know if that's the same for working tax credits. The phone line is so annoying!

 

[BellaBoo0512]

They don't make things easy for people do they? I'd of never known about deducting £100pw from my maternity if I hadn't of seen it on a thread on here! Ill give them a ring later when LO has a nap was they okay with you when you realised they were overpaying? x

 

[Pearls18]

They don't make things easy for people do they? I'd of never known about deducting £100pw from my maternity if I hadn't of seen it on a thread on here! Ill give them a ring later when LO has a nap was they okay with you when you realised they were overpaying? x

Yeah I only knew because I rung up, if I had of given them the renewal in writing I never would have known. They were absolutely fine, I think it was because I gave the wrong income mid year while working off an estimate, they might be a bit more funny with you if you give them the wrong income during renewal which isn't meant to be an estimate, but if youre correcting yourself they will know you made an honest mistake. When you renew give them the income on your P60 but tell them how many weeks you were on maternity for and they week multiply that by 100 and remove it from the amount.

 

[LynseyPynsey]

Hi hun, MA isn't included at all as income

 

[BellaBoo0512]

Ahh thank you I've left it that my income is £36 per week but will let them know it's £0 when I have to send my renewal in. Terrified of being over paid and getting fined x