TCTM06103 - Claims and Notification

Claim Effective Date and Backdating

The Tax Credits (Claims and Notification) Regulations 2002, Reg. 7

In certain circumstances a claim for a tax credit may be treated as having been made on an earlier date to that when it is received in an appropriate office. This is known as backdating.

The date the claim is backdated to is known as the claim effective date.

Both WTC and CTC components can be backdated a maximum of 3 months.

• These limits cannot be extended except in the circumstances detailed in TCTM06104.
• Automatic backdating can occur in certain circumstances, which are explained in TCTM06104.

Otherwise the claimant would have to provide the details of when they became entitled to the tax credit, in order to obtain the backdating for up to 3 months (Note: they can inform HM Revenue & Customs of these details at any time up to the point that their award for the year is finalised, they would not have to put all this information on the claim itself. In effect, so long as they make a claim, which HM Revenue & Customs accepts, then the backdating can be triggered at any point once HM Revenue & Customs receives the necessary information in order to backdate)

If the claimant becomes responsible for a child the claim will be backdated to the date responsibility started. If responsibility started more than 3 months before the date of claim the CTC will be backdated 3 months

Otherwise the CTC will be backdated to the birth of a child. If the child was born more than 3 months before the date of claim the CTC will be backdated 3 months.

(Note: claims from same sex couples can not be backdated to any date prior to 5 December 2005 as this is the date the Civil Partnerships Act came into force.)