In this section:
- Changes to your usual working hours and tax credits
- Tax credits when you can't work due to illness
- Temporary gaps in work when claiming tax credits
- Maternity, paternity and adoption leave and tax credits
Changes to your usual working hours and tax credits
You must work a minimum number of hours a week to get Working Tax Credit - either 16 or 30 depending on your circumstances. If your usual working hours change, you should let us know straight away because it may change the amount of Working Tax Credit you get.
Number of usual working hours
To get Working Tax Credit, you must normally be over the age of 25 and work at least 30 hours a week. But you only need to work 16 hours or more a week if you or your partner:
- are aged at least 16 and are responsible for a child or young person
- are aged at least 16 and you qualify for an extra payment of tax credits because you’re disabled
- are over 50 and going back to work after being on benefit for at least six months
You should expect your paid work to continue for at least four weeks.
If you’re now working less hours
You may need to tell us if your working hours go down. If you don’t, you may get paid too much money and may have to pay it back. Let us know straight away if you:
- were working 30 or more hours a week and are now working less than 30 hours a week
- were working between 16 and 30 hours a week and are now working less than 16 hours a week
- are part of a couple and your joint working hours are now less than 30 hours a week
- have been on strike for more than ten days
If you are no longer working
Let us know straight away if you:
- stop working altogether either as an employee or self-employed person
- are no longer working and there is a gap of seven days or more before you start another job
If you reduce your weekly working hours to less than 16 or you stop work altogether, you will only be paid tax credits for a further four weeks from the date of the change.
You must tell us about these changes within one month, or you could be paid too much money (an overpayment) which you may have to pay back. You may also be charged a penalty of up to £300.
If you’re now working more hours
Tell us if your usual hours of paid work go up because you might be able to get more money. Tell us as soon as possible, because we can only backdate any increase in your payments by up to three months.
You should let us know if you:
- were working less than 16 hours a week and are now working 16 or more hours a week - as you may now be able to get Working Tax Credit
- were working less than 30 hours a week and are now working 30 or more hours a week
- are part of a couple that is responsible for one or more children and your joint working hours are now 30 or more hours a week – with one of you working at least 16 hours a week
The amount of tax credits you get depends on the amount of money you have coming in, so if increased hours also mean an increase in income, then you should tell us straight away. It may not affect your current tax credits, but it will affect how much we should pay you for next year.
Find out why it’s so important to report a change
Find out how changes in income affect your tax credits
How to calculate your usual working hours
To claim tax credits, you need to tell us the total number of hours you usually work and are paid for each week. If you’ve got more than one job you need to add together the total hours you work in each job. You should include overtime hours if:
- you regularly work them in your working week
- you get paid for them
If your hours are different from week to week, tell us what you and your employer agree are your usual working hours.
You may not be able to tell us what your usual working hours are because they change so much from week to week. This may be because you:
- do seasonal work
- only work in school terms
- work for an agency
If so, we may ask you to estimate what your usual hours will be.
Find out how to work out your usual working hours
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
Tax credits: how and when to tell us about changes
