In this section:
- Which state benefits to report when making a tax credits claim
- Working out income from employment for your tax credits claim
- Working out benefits from your employer for your tax credits claim
- Working out income from self-employment for your tax credits claim
- Working out other income for your tax credits claim
- Working out usual working hours for your tax credits claim
- Working out childcare costs for your tax credits claim
Working out benefits from your employer for your tax credits claim
When we work out your tax credit payments, we take into account the value of certain benefits you receive from your employer like mileage allowance payments for using your own car, or a company car and fuel. These are called benefits in kind.
Benefits from your employer
Benefits in kind from your employer aren't paid as wages but they are taxable. When you fill in your claim form or renew your tax credits claim with the Annual Declaration form, you'll need to give the total cash value or taxable amount of any benefits you've received. You don't have to work out the amount of each individual benefit - your employer will tell you the taxable values on your P11D or P9D form.
Benefits from your employer that you need to include on your form are:
- any mileage allowance payments over the tax free approved amount
- a company car
- car fuel
- expenses payments made to you unless they were business expenses
- goods and assets your employer has given to you, for example gifts of food and drink
- payments made by your employer on your behalf, for example if your employer paid your rent directly to your landlord
- vouchers or credit tokens eg company credit cards
To calculate your benefits, add the value of all these benefits together and round the total down to the nearest pound. For example, if the total value is £256.73, then you should put £256 on your form.
For help calculating the value of your benefits, use the worksheet in the notes that came with your tax credits claim form or renewal pack, or call the Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909.
Download notes on making a tax credits claim (PDF 667K)
If you've had more than one employer
If you've had more than one employer during the tax year - a tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the next - you may have received more than one P11D or P9D form. You need to add together the totals from each form to show the total amount of benefits received from all of your employers.
Reporting a change in income
The amount of tax credits you get depends on your annual income. It's a good idea to tell us if you:
- expect that your annual income - including benefits in kind - for the current tax year will be less than your annual income for the previous tax year
- expect that your annual income - including benefits in kind - for the current tax year will be more than your annual income for the previous tax year
If you don't tell us, you may not get all of the money you're entitled to or you may have to pay back an overpayment.
Find out how to report changes in income
Contact us
You can contact our Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909 (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, seven days a week except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day).
More useful links
Working out income from employment for your tax credits claim
Working out income from self-employment for your tax credits claim
