The Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002

Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 2007

The Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002

Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament.

The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. It may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately and that the source and copyright status of the material is made evident to users.

It should be noted that the right to reproduce the text of Statutory Instruments does not extend to the Queen's Printer imprints which should be removed from any copies of the Statutory Instrument which are issued or made available to the public. This includes reproduction of the Statutory Instrument on the Internet and on intranet sites. The Royal Arms may be reproduced only where they are an integral part of the original document.

The text of this Internet version of the Statutory Instrument which is published by the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament has been prepared to reflect the text as it was Made. A print version is also available and is published by The Stationery Office Limited as the The Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002, ISBN 0 11 042613 4. The print version may be purchased by clicking here. Braille copies of this Statutory Instrument can also be purchased at the same price as the print edition by contacting TSO Customer Services on 0870 600 5522 or e-mail:customer.services@tso.co.uk.

Further information about the publication of legislation on this website can be found by referring to the Frequently Asked Questions.

To ensure fast access over slow connections, large documents have been segmented into "chunks". Where you see a "continue" button at the bottom of the page of text, this indicates that there is another chunk of text available.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2002 No. 2007
TAX CREDITS
The Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002

	Made	30th July 2002
	Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

Whereas a draft of this instrument, which contains the first regulations made under section 9 of the Tax Credits Act 2002[1], has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament:

Now, therefore, the Treasury, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 8, 9, 65 and 67 of the Tax Credits Act 2002[2], hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and effect
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002 and shall come into force -

and shall have effect for the tax year beginning on 6th April 2003 and subsequent tax years.

Interpretation
2. - (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Tax Credits Act 2002;

"advanced education" means full-time education for the purposes of -

(a) a course in preparation for a degree, a diploma of higher education, a higher national diploma, a higher national diploma or higher national certificate of Edexcel or the Scottish Qualifications Authority, or a teaching qualification; or

(b) any other course which is of a standard above ordinary national diploma, a national diploma or national certificate of Edexcel or the Scottish Qualifications Authority, a general certificate of education (advanced level), a Scottish certificate of education (higher level) or a Scottish certificate of sixth year studies;

"the Careers Service" means -

(a) in England and Wales, a person with whom the Secretary of State or the National Assembly of Wales has made arrangements under section 10(1) of the Employment Act[

"child" means a person who has not attained the age of sixteen or who falls within the terms of regulation 4;

"claimant" has the meaning in section 9(8) of the Act, except in regulation 7, where that expression and "joint claimants" have the meanings given in regulation 7(1);

"custodial sentence" -

"disability living allowance" means a disability living allowance under section 71 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

"the Employment Act" means the Employment and Training Act 1973;

"the family element of child tax credit" and "the individual element of child tax credit" shall be construed in accordance with section 9(3) of the Act;

"joint claim" and "single claim" shall be construed in accordance with section 3(8) of the Act;

the "main responsibility test" has the meaning given in Rule 2.2. of regulation 3;

the "normally living with test" has the meaning given in Rule 1.1. of regulation 3;

"Part 1" means Part 1 of the Act;

"qualifying young person" means a person, other than a child, who -

"recognised educational establishment" means an establishment recognised by the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers or the Department for Employment and Learning, as the case may be, as being, or as comparable to, a university, college or school;

"relevant training programme" means -

"remunerative work" means work which is -

and other expressions have the same meanings as defined in the Act.

    (2) In the application of these Regulations to Northern Ireland, a reference to a provision of an enactment which applies only to Great Britain or England and Wales, shall be construed, so far as necessary, as including a reference to the corresponding enactment applying to Northern Ireland.

Circumstances in which a person is or is not responsible for a child or qualifying young person
     3. - (1) For the purposes of child tax credit the circumstances in which a person is or is not responsible for a child or qualifying young person shall be determined in accordance with the following Rules.

Rule 1
     1.1. A person shall be treated as responsible for a child or qualifying young person who is normally living with him (the "normally living with test").

     1.2. This Rule is subject to Rules 2 to 4.

Rule 2 (Competing claims)
     2.1. This Rule applies where -

(a) a child or qualifying young person normally lives with two or more persons in -

(b) two or more of those persons make separate claims (that is, not a single joint claim made by a married couple or unmarried couple) for child tax credit in respect of the child or qualifying young person.

2.2. The child or qualifying young person shall be treated as the responsibility of -

(a) only one of those persons making such claims, and

(b) whichever of them has (comparing between them) the main responsibility for him (the "main responsibility test"),

(a) a claimant is treated as responsible for a child or qualifying young person by virtue of the preceding Rules, and

(b) the child or qualifying young person has a child of his or her own, normally living with him or her,

the claimant shall also be treated as responsible for, and as having made a claim for child tax credit in respect of, the child of the child or qualifying young person (but without prejudice to the facts as to which of them is mainly responsible for that child).

Period for which a person who attains the age of sixteen remains a child
     4. A person who attains the age of sixteen remains a child for the purposes of Part 1 from the date on which he attained that age until immediately before the 1st September which next follows that date.

Maximum age and prescribed conditions for a qualifying young person
     5. - (1) For the purposes of Part 1 a person ceases to be a qualifying young person (unless disqualified earlier under the following paragraphs) on the date on which he attains the age of nineteen.

    (2) A person who is not a child, but has not attained the age of nineteen years, is a qualifying young person for any period during which the following conditions are satisfied with regard to him.

    (3) The first condition is that he is either -

(a) receiving full-time education, not being -

(b) under the age of eighteen years and -

(4) The second condition is that the period in question is not (and does not include) -

(a) a week in which he (having ceased to receive full-time education) becomes engaged in remunerative work;

(b) a period -

(c) a period in respect of which that person receives income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995[28].

(5) For the purposes of paragraphs (3) and (4) full-time education is education received by a person attending a course of education -

where in pursuit of that course, the time spent receiving instruction or tuition, undertaking supervised study, examination or practical work or taking part in any exercise, experiment or project for which provision is made in the curriculum of the course, exceeds or exceeds on average 12 hours a week in normal term-time, and shall include normal gaps between the ending of one course and the commencement of another, where the person is enrolled on and commences the latter course.

(6) In calculating the time spent in pursuit of the course, no account shall be taken of time occupied by meal breaks or spent on unsupervised study.

Entitlement to child tax credit after death of child or qualifying young person
6. If -

(a) a child or qualifying young person dies, and

(b) a person is (or would, if a claim had been made, have been) entitled to child tax credit in respect of the child or qualifying young person immediately before the death,

that person shall be entitled to child tax credit in respect of the child or qualifying young person for the period of eight weeks immediately following the death or, in the case of a qualifying young person, until the date on which he or she would have attained the age of nineteen, if earlier.

Determination of the maximum rate at which a person or persons may be entitled to child tax credit
7. - (1) In the following paragraphs -

(a) in the case of a single claim (but not a joint claim), the person making the claim is referred to as the "claimant"; and

(b) in the case of a joint claim, the members of the married couple or unmarried couple making the claim are referred to as the "joint claimants".

(2) The maximum rate at which a claimant or joint claimants may be entitled to child tax credit shall be the aggregate of -

(a) the family element of child tax credit, and

(b) an individual element of child tax credit, in respect of each child or qualifying young person for whom -

as the case may be, is or are responsible.

(3) The family element of child tax credit -

(a) in a case where any of the children referred to in paragraph (2)(b) above is under the age of one year, is �1,090; and

(b) in any other case, is �545.

(4) The individual element of child tax credit for any child or qualifying young person referred to in paragraph (2)(b) above -

(a) where the child is disabled, is �3,600;

(b) where the child is severely disabled, is �4,465;

(c) in the case of any other child, is �1,445;

(d) where the qualifying young person is disabled, is �3,600;

(e) where the qualifying young person is severely disabled, is �4,465; and

(f) in the case of any other qualifying young person, is �1,445.

Prescribed conditions for a disabled or severely disabled child or qualifying young person
8. - (1) For the purposes of section 9 of the Act a child or qualifying young person -

(a) is disabled if he satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2); and

(b) is severely disabled if he satisfies the requirements of paragraph (3).

(2) A person satisfies the requirements of this paragraph if -

(a) disability living allowance is payable in respect of him, or has ceased to be so payable solely because he is a patient; or

(b) he is -

(i) registered as blind in a register compiled by a local authority under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 (welfare services)[

(3) A person satisfies the requirements of this paragraph if the care component of disability living allowance -

at the highest rate prescribed under section 72(3) of that Act.

Jim Fitzpatrick

John Heppell
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury

30th July 2002