Tax Credit Claimants Urged to Renew or Risk Losing Payments

Claimants of tax credits across the UK are being urged to renew their claims before the end of July to avoid having their payments ended.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who receive tax credit payments each month nationwide and July 31st is the official deadline to get forms submitted in relation to the full year that will then have ended.

Anyone who claims tax credit payments but has still yet to provide the relevant details to HMRC for the past year is being urged to do so quickly and not to risk missing out on future payments.

HMRC has said that its online portals are the best way for people to renew and to manage their claims.

There is also now an official HMRC app designed to help people deal more easily and swiftly with processes like renewing tax credit claims.

HMRC has explained that claimants of tax credits do not need to provide any details about temporary reductions to their normal working hours that came about because of Covid-19.

The Revenue has said that those details only need to be provided if your working hours have been changed permanently because that may well be relevant to what levels of payments you are entitled to claim.

Other issues that could be materially relevant to someone’s tax credit renewals process include changes to living arrangements, alterations to a childcare situation or adjustments to income, whether increases or decreases.

Anyone who is self-employed and claimed financial support from the government to get through the pandemic via the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme should also provide information on that subject as they renew their tax credit claims.

“Tax credits payments can provide our customers with vital financial support,” noted Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services.

“There is just one week left to renew your claim – don’t delay and do it online by searching ‘tax credits’ on GOV.UK.”

HMRC has also warned people to be careful if they are contacted unexpectedly by anyone claiming to be among its representatives because those messages will often turn out to have been attempts to commit fraud. 

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