In this section:
- How changes at home and work affect your tax credits
- Tax credits: how and when to tell us about changes
- Family changes - how they can affect your tax credits
- Changes at work - how they can affect your tax credits
- Changes in income and tax credits
- Changes to childcare arrangements and tax credits
- You haven't reported a change - what happens to your tax credits?
Changes in income and tax credits
If for any reason your income goes down during the year you should tell us as you may get more tax credits. Tell us also if your income goes up. It probably won't change the amount of tax credits you are getting now, but it will help us to work out your payments for the next tax year based on the right income.
How changes in income affect your tax credits
If your income in the current tax year is different from your income in the previous year, then the amount of tax credit you get may change. If your income changes in any of the following ways, then you need to tell us about it. A tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the next.
- If your income for the current tax year is expected to be less than last year, you may be entitled to extra tax credits.
- If your income for the current tax year is expected to be more than £25,000 higher than income for the last year, you may get less tax credits.
- There's no need for you to tell us if you expect your income for the current year to be no more than £25,000 higher than your income for the last year. It will make no difference to the amount of tax credit you will receive for the current year although the increased income will be taken into account in the following year.
Find out how to work out your income if you're employed
Find out how to work out your income if you're self-employed
Find out how to work out your 'other' income
When to tell us about a change in income
If your income goes down, it's a good idea to tell us as you may be entitled to more tax credits.
It's important to tell us straight away if your income goes up by more than £25,000, as your tax credits may go down and you could be building up an overpayment which you may have to pay back. Any decrease in your payments will be backdated to the date your income changed.
Find out how to repay a tax credits overpayment
What happens if you don't report a change in income?
Tell us straight away if your income goes up by less than £25,000. If all your other circumstances stay the same then your tax credits will not change until the end of the tax year. However, we need the new figure for your income to work out how much we should pay you for the following year.
If you do not tell us about the increase in your income until you renew
your tax credits after the end of the year you could be building up
an overpayment which you may have to pay back.
Find out how to renew your tax credits
claim
Contact us
You can tell us about any changes in circumstance by calling the 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
How changes at home and work affect your tax credits
Tax credits: how and when to tell us about changes
