OVER 323,000 people claiming tax credits are at risk of seeing their payments stop if they don’t refresh their claim.
The deadline for renewing tax credits is July 31, but 323,700 people still haven’t filed the paperwork, latest figures from HMRC show.
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If you don’t renew the benefit, payments could be stopped and you may have to pay money back – leaving you thousands out of pocket.
There are two types of tax credits – working tax and child tax credit.
Universal Credit has replaced both these for new claimants, but many have not yet made the switch over to the newer benefit.
The amount you get depends on your circumstances but it can be worth as much as £3,545 for child tax credits or £3,345 for working tax credits.
But you are required to renew a claim each year, and packs are sent out for you to fill in and return.
Your renewal pack should have landed through your letterbox by now.
But in some cases, you don’t have to renew – we explain below.
How do I renew my tax credits?
If you’re getting tax credits you’ll be sent a renewal pack that you’ll need to complete.
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Those that need to renew will have a letter with a red line on it and the words “reply now”.
People that need to check their details will receive a letter from HMRC with a black line and the words “reply now” on it.
If all your details are correct, you don’t need to do anything – your tax credits will automatically be renewed.
If there’s a change in your circumstances, then you’ll need to tell HMRC about it – otherwise it could affect your claim.
The following changes could have an impact on your tax credit payments:
- Living arrangements
- Childcare
- Working hours
- Whether your income has gone up or down
You’ll get instructions in your renewal pack – this details the information you’ll need to provide HMRC.
This includes the income of you and your partner for the previous tax year, which ran from April 6 2021 to April 5 2022.
You can renew your tax credits three ways: online, by post or over the phone.
To do it online you need to log in to your tax credits account and follow the instruction.
You can renew over the phone by calling HMRC on 0345 300 3900.
By post, you need to sill in the forms in your renewal pack, and send it to: Tax Credit Office, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1LR.
If you haven’t received a renewal pack, you can contact HMRC.
How much could I miss out on if I don’t renew?
The exact amount you can get depends on your circumstances – see below.
Working tax credits per year:
- Basic element £2,070
- Couple and lone parent element £2,125
- 30 hour element £860
- Disabled worker element £3,345
- Severe disability element £1,445
- Childcare element £175 or £300, depending on the number of children
Child tax credits per year
- Family element £545
- Child element £2,935
- Disability element: disabled child rate £3,545
- Disability element: severally disabled child rate £1,430
For both Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credits you can use a benefits calculator to find out how much you could get.
If you miss the July 31 deadline to renew your tax credits, HMRC will send you a letter with the code TC607 on it.
You’ll have to pay back the tax credits you’ve received since April 6 this year.
You have to contact them within 30 days and tell them why you missed the deadline and you need to have a “good cause” for doing so.
You could be given until January 31 next year to confirm your details but this isn’t guaranteed and is decided on by a case by case basis.
If you don’t respond after 30 days, you’ll have to pay your tax credits back up to April 6 this year and your payments will stop.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
