Over 82,000 have had tax credit benefits stopped – how to fix it NOW

OVER 82,000 people have had their tax credit benefits stopped after failing to renew them on time, figures from the HMRC reveal.

The figure, shared exclusively with The Sun, includes those who failed to renew their child tax credit, working tax credit, or both.

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People who are low income or disabled are eligible for working tax credit. The working tax crdit is worth up to £3,240 per year.

While people who have children that are dependent on them are only eligible for child tax credit if they are already in receipt of working tax credit. The child tax credit is worth up to £4,825.

If you have claimed tax credits you will have been sent a renewal pack that tells you how to renew them.

If you receive a renewal pack with “reply now'” written on it in red, then you should renew your tax credits.

However, even if your renewal back does not have a banner saying “reply now” it should still have a renewal date printed on it.

For most people that renewal date is July 31.

If you miss the deadline then not only will your tax credits stop, you will also receive a statement from HMRC asking you to pay back any tax credits you have received since April 6 of this year.

What to do if you miss the renewal deadline

If you contact HMRC within 30 days of the date written on your statement your tax credit claim will be restored and you won’t have to pay back any money.

You can contact HMRC by phone on 0345 300 3900 or you can contact by post.

However, if you wait longer than 30 days then you will need to have a good reason for the delay to have your claim restored.

If you fail to contact HMRC at all after reveiving the statement then your tax credits will stop and you will have to pay back all the payments you have received since April 6.

You can not make a new claim for tax credits if your payments have been stopped by HMRC.

How to check what benefits you may be eligible for

The quickest way to see what benefits you may be able to claim is to use one of the three benefit calculators recommended by Gov.uk.

Each one is free to use. They include:

For each of these, you’ll be asked information about your circumstances, such as your current employment and income.

You’ll also need to give information about yourself, including your age and who you live with.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk