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MSD/IR Working for Families Tax Credits Administration Programme
Annual report
Purpose: To inform IR of beneficiaries who have commenced paid employment so that IR can deliver Working for Families Tax Credits (WfFTC).
Year commenced: 2005
Features: Data transferred weekly by online transfer.
MSD disclosure to IR: MSD selects clients with children in their care who have had a ‘trigger event' relating to the cessation or commencement of employment (i.e. a benefit has been granted, resumed, cancelled or suspended).
MSD sends full name, date of birth, income and benefit payment information, and MSD and IRD client numbers for both the primary carer and his or her partner. In addition, MSD provides the primary carer's bank account number, address and contact details. Details of each child's full name and date of birth are also included.
2010/11 Activity: An audit on the operation of this programme found that there are effective controls in place and no issues were identified.
Because this programme operates as part of a complex business process aimed at ensuring WfFTC payments are made in a timely manner, it is difficult to quantify the scale of the match or identify trends in the number of matches made.
Compliance: Compliant.
Technical information
| Information matching provision | Tax Administration Act 1994, s.85G |
| Year authorised | 2004 |
| Programme type | Identifying unclaimed entitlement |
| Unique identifiers | Tax File Number, MSD client number |
| On-line transfers | Yes |
System description
Each week, MSD uses an encrypted Business to Business (B2B) communication channel to send IR details of clients with children in their care who have had their benefit granted, resumed, cancelled or suspended because of a cessation or commencement of employment.
MSD sends the full name, date of birth, income and benefit payment details for both the primary carer and their partner. MSD also provides the primary carer's bank account number, address and other contact details. Each child's full name and date of birth are also included.
IR matches the MSD client number, IRD number, family name, first name, and date of birth details received from MSD against its own records. Where a match is successful, IR updates the tax record and starts, stops, or changes the amount of family assistance paid to the individual. When key information or certain combinations of information do not match, IR investigates further.
To enable tax credits to be stopped or started without delay, the Privacy Act contains an exception (section 103(1B) that allows IR to immediately suspend a tax credit payment based upon a successful match produced by the programme without first sending the individual a notice of adverse action. However, IR must give notice to the individual immediately after the suspension and give the individual an opportunity to challenge the action.
Historical activity
IR has been reporting on the operation of this programme using the process audit approach developed by this Office. The Inland Revenue Corporate Risk and Assurance division have concluded in each year that there were effective controls over the administration of this programme.