TCTM09374 - Decision Making, Joint or Single claims, Couples where only one partner is in the UK: Cross border and migrant workers
Decision Making, Joint or Single claims, Couples where only one partner is in the UK: Cross border and migrant workers
Tax credits have been replaced by Universal Credit.
From 21 January 2021 a person can only make a claim for Child Tax Credit (CTC) or Working Tax Credit (WTC) if:
- they are already receiving one of these; or
- they are a frontier worker.
See TCTM06100 - Claims and Notification: Making a claim.
Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 (to 15 June 2011) or (from 16 June 2011) Regulation (EU) 492/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council of 5 April 2011 on Freedom of Movement for Workers within the Union
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 (to 30 April 2010) or Regulation (EC) 883/04 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 (from 1 May 2010) on the coordination of social security systems
From 1 January 2021 these EU rules only apply to those who are covered by:
- the Withdrawal Agreement;
- the EEA-EFTA Separation Agreement; or
- the Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement.
WTC and CTC are affected differently by European (EU) law. This means that someone with a partner may be classed as part of a couple for CTC purposes but not for WTC, so this can result in a requirement to make a joint claim for CTC and a single claim for WTC. {#} How the individual tax credits are treated by EU law is explained in more detail below.
WTC
Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 492/2011 provides that a national of any EU or EEA-EFTA State or Switzerland may not, in another EU, EEA-EFTA State or Switzerland, be treated differently from a worker who is a national of that state. In particular the worker who has moved states should receive the same social and tax advantages as the worker who is the national of the host state.
WTC is classed as a United Kingdom (UK) social advantage which can be claimed by a person working in the UK.
CTC
CTC is a family benefit within Regulation 883/04 and Regulation (EC) 987/2009 (the ‘implementing’ Regulation). These Regulations, primarily Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and the relevant family benefits provisions, requires the situation of the whole family of a customer applying for CTC to be taken into account, as if they were residing in the UK. Therefore, a joint CTC claim must be made by a customer living and/or working in the UK and whose partner resides in an EU or EEA-EFTA State or Switzerland.
Special rules for UK and Irish nationals, not covered by the WA moving between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Tax Credits Act 2002, section 3(7) and Tax Credits (Residence) Regulations, Reg. 3(4A), (7A) and (7B)
WTC and CTC are affected differently by the Tax Credits (Residence) Regulations for UK and Irish nationals moving between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
This means that a UK or Irish national with a partner in the Republic of Ireland may be classed as part of a couple for CTC purposes but not for WTC, so this can result in a requirement to make a joint claim for CTC and a single claim for WTC.
These rules work in the same way as the EU rules set out above.
For tax credits purposes:
- a frontier worker (sometimes known as a cross border worker) is either:
- a national of an EU State or EEA-EFTA State (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or Switzerland who lives in one of these States and works in another; or
- a UK or Irish national who lives in either the UK or Ireland and works in the other.
TCTM 09375 shows how a couple, where one or both are frontier workers, should claim tax credits, either singly or jointly, depending on different circumstances.
- a migrant worker is someone who has come from another country and who lives and works in the UK.
TCTM09376 shows how a couple, where one partner lives and works in the United Kingdom (UK) whilst the other partner and children remain in an EU or EEA-EFTA State or Switzerland, should claim tax credits, either singly or jointly depending on different circumstances.