CCM15545 - Undisclosed Partners: Recovery of Overpayment for cases opened before 17 May 2007 - Notional Entitlement Where Partner No Longer Lives With The Customer

Where the customer is no longer living with the previously undisclosed partner there can be two elements to the notional entitlement -

  • one entitlement as if the couple had made a joint claim at the correct time.
  • one element as if a correct claim had been made as a single customer from the date the partner left the household.

You must therefore agree with the customer at the date on which the partner left the household. To calculate the notional entitlement you should then go through the following steps.

Step 1

If the customer can provide details of their ex-partner’s income, calculate the notional entitlement in accordance with CCM15530. The period for this calculation will be from the date the partner joined the household (or 6 April 2003 if later) to the date they left the household. Then go to step 2 below.

However, in many cases the customer will not be able to provide these details. You must not take the details from our internal records. Instead go to step 2 below.

Step 2

Use the tax credits calculator on SEES to calculate the amount the customer would have been entitled to had they made a new claim from the date the partner left the household. This should reflect any information obtained during your enquiry as well as the details on the original claim.

Your calculation will cover the period from the date the partner left the household to the date any new award began. If a new claim as a single person has not yet been made then assume a claim is made that day and is backdated for 3 months or the date the partner left the household if this occurred within the last 3 months. A calculation must be made for each tax year and the calculation for the CY will be based on the provisional payments that would have been made.

This gives you the notional entitlement as a single customer. Then go to step 3.

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Step 3

Add the notional entitlement (if any) from step 1 to the figure at step 2 but keep the different tax years separate. This is the total notional entitlement for the customer and you should make this calculation available to the customer.

An example of how to calculate the notional entitlement is at CCM15550.