TCM0044200 - Changes - miscellaneous (G-Z): S19 - Priority 1 or Mismatch team change of circumstances (AG)
Background
This guidance details the action to be taken by the Priority 1 Change of Circumstances Team and the Mismatch Team when dealing with specific changes that affect tax credits awards that have been finalised.
The Priority 1 Change of Circumstances team will deal with
- customer’s or child’s date of death.
The Mismatch team will deal with the following changes
- customer’s or child’s date of birth
- customer’s gender.
Note: If you are making a change to a PY claim after the 1st Specified Date (1SD) and on or before the 2nd Specified Date (2SD), you can only re-finalise an award which was Finalised Estimated at 1SD when you have actual income details for the affected year.
Note: From 6 April 2017, customers will only get the Family Element of Child Tax Credit where they are responsible for a child or children born before that date.
Note: From 6 April 2017, customers will only get the child element of Child Tax Credit (CTC) for up to 2 children. If they are already claiming tax credits for more than 2 children born before 6 April 2017, they will continue to get tax credits for each of them.
Guidance
To deal with specific S19 changes, consider steps 1 to 10.
Note: If you are dealing with a claim where an exception marker has been applied to any of the children/young persons included in the claim or the customer is reporting a change relating to an exception contact the Exception Team (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) . (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) For how to check if the exception marker has been applied, use TCM1000314.
Step 1
If the change relates to
- Current Year (CY) or an unfinalised Previous Year (PY), apply the change. Follow the appropriate Changes guidance
otherwise - go to Step 2.
Step 2
If the change relates to a
- customer’s or child’s date of birth, go to Step 3.
- customer’s change of gender, go to Step 4.
- customer’s or child’s date of death, go to Step 5.
Step 3
Use the SEES Tax Credit Entitlement Calculator to establish if the change to the date of birth affects the customer’s entitlement. To do this
- enter the changes in the SEES Tax Credit Entitlement Calculator to calculate an adjusted PY award
- print a copy and retain
- has the change resulted in an adjusted PY award?
Step 4
Use Function AMEND APPLICATION selecting the ‘Correction’ option
- select ‘Household’ on the toolbar menu
- select ‘Details’ from the options available. You will be taken to the Household Details screen
- enter a tick in the Manual Correspondence checkbox
- select [OK]
- If there are any further changes. Follow the appropriate Changes guidance
- If there are no other changes
- use Function MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLD NOTES to record the following, as appropriate
- ‘TCMZ - Manual correspondence marker added for PY (insert name) date of birth change’
or - ‘TCMZ - Manual correspondence marker added for gender change’
Note: You must follow the guidance in TCM0152060 when you record the note and also follow the guidance in TCM0152160.
- take no further action.
Step 5
Follow the guidance in TCM0042260 from step 6 onwards.
- If the change cannot be applied, go to Step 6 in this guidance.
Step 6
Use Function VIEW HOUSEHOLD NOTES
- If any of the following messages have been entered, go to Step 10
‘UZ06 - Enquiry Closed’
‘UZ07 - Examination Closed’
‘UZ08 - Enquiry Settled’
‘UZ09 - Enquiry closed and settled’
‘UZ10 - Compliance Amendment’
‘UZ21 - Enquiry closed - No amendments must be made to final act years without consultation with CCO (name/office/number)’
‘UZ22 - Examination closed (name/office/number)’
‘UZ25 - Local compliance enquiry completed (DD/MM/YY)’
‘UZ58 - SDE Enq complete Clmt agrees. System updated & closure letter issued’
‘UZ59 - SDE Enq complete Clmt disagrees. System updated & closure letter issued’
‘UZ60 - SDE Enq complete - no reply from clmt. System updated & closure letter issued’ - If the following message has been entered
‘UZ02 - Enquiry opened, displays’- contact the Compliance Officer to establish whether you can continue with your action
then, if you can continue - go to Step 7.
- contact the Compliance Officer to establish whether you can continue with your action
- If none of the messages have been entered, go to Step 7.
Step 7
Note: There is a time limit between which an S19 Enquiry can be opened and closed. This time limit is known as the Enquiry Window. Once an Enquiry Window is closed it is not legally possible to open an Enquiry.
- For most cases the Enquiry Window will close one year after 1SD. For example,
- for 2005-2006, the Enquiry Window closed on 31 August 2007
- for 2006-2007, the Enquiry Window closes on 31 July 2008.
- The exception to this is where the customer gave an estimated income figure to finalise their claim by 1SD. These can be identified because the Award Status field on the Award screen in Function VIEW AWARD will show ‘Final Est’. In these cases, the Enquiry Window remains open until a year after 2SD. For example,
- for 2005-2006, the Enquiry Window closes on 31 January 2008
- for 2006-2007, the Enquiry Window closes on 31 January 2009.
- The Enquiry Window must be treated differently if, for some reason, the specified date was extended, for example if the Annual Declaration had been issued late. The Enquiry Window would then close one year following the new specified date.
For more information on Enquiry Windows with regard to self-employed cases, use Claimant Compliance Manual, section 12610.
Check whether the Enquiry Window is still open for the year the change is to be made.
Step 8
Issue the S19 Voluntary Disclosure letter to the customer or their appropriate representative
- Use Function MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLD NOTES to record the following
‘NP13 - Opening Enquiry letter issued, date PID number and telephone number’
Note: You must follow the guidance in TCM0152060 when you record the note and also follow the guidance in TCM0152160. - Set a clerical BF for 7 days in the future
Note: HMRC is legally obliged to give the customer at least seven days before applying the change. If you need to make further enquiries, for instance to establish who the executor or next of kin is, make the appropriate enquiries but do not apply the changes before the seven-day BF date.
then, once the BF date has expired - go to Step 9.
Step 9
Apply the changes. Follow the appropriate Changes guidance.
- Use Function MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLD NOTES to record the following
‘NP14 - Enquiry action complete’
Note: You must follow the guidance in TCM0152060 when you record the note and also follow the guidance in TCM0152160. - close the document on DMS. For how to do this, use TCM1000037
- take no further action.
Step 10
Send an email to Benefits and Credits (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
- title the email ‘S19 Window closed’
- enter the following details
- effective date of the tax credits claim
- decision on the tax credits award
- details of the change
- when the customer or their representative originally notified HMRC of the change
then
- complete form TC648 with the customer’s details
- put a note on top of form TC648 stating ‘Cannot amend S18 decision - refer to B&C Team’
- set a clerical BF date
- use Function MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLD NOTES to record the following
‘NX07 - Cannot amend S18 decision refer to B&C team’
Note: You must follow the guidance in TCM0152060 when you record the note and also follow the guidance in TCM0152160. - await further guidance from Benefits and Credits.