In this section:
- How to claim tax credits
- Help with the tax credits claim form
- How to avoid common mistakes on your tax credits claim form
- When your tax credits claim can be backdated
- Protect your right to tax credits by claiming early
- Claiming tax credits as an appointee
- When can you expect your first tax credits payment?
- Tax credits - rights and responsibilities
Claiming tax credits as an appointee
Some people can't make their own tax credits claim because they are unable to deal with their own finances. If so, another person - called an appointee - can be given the legal right to act for them. If you're an appointee for someone, you can make the claim on their behalf.
How to decide if you're an appointee
You can only be an appointee if a court of law or a government department has appointed you to act on someone else's behalf. If you're just helping someone fill in their claim form, you're not an appointee.
You're an appointee
You're an appointee if you've been appointed to act for someone else - called a claimant - by one or more of the following:
- a court of law
- the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- the Department for Social Development (DSD) in Northern Ireland
- HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
When you make a claim as an appointee, we may contact you to find out who appointed you and when.
You're not an appointee
You're not an appointee if you're simply helping someone to understand what they need to do to complete their claim form.
You may help someone to fill in the form because:
- you work in a welfare rights organisation like Citizens Advice
- you're helping them as a friend
- you're translating the questions into another language for them because they speak and understand very little English
Anyone who understands the Declaration on the claim form and can sign it themselves should do so.
Your responsibilities as an appointee
As an appointee you take on the full responsibility for making and maintaining any claim. This means that you:
- must sign the claim form instead of the claimant
- are responsible for telling us of any changes which may affect the amount of tax credits the claimant gets
- can be responsible for any penalty payments, if you knowingly provide us with wrong information
- have to renew any claim after the end of the year
Applying to become an appointee for the first time
To apply to act as an appointee, you need to complete the appointee section on page 11 of the tax credits claim form which asks you to explain why the claimant can't complete and sign the form.
For us to appoint you, you must be at least 18 years old. You don't need to be related to the claimant.
Before we make our decision on whether to appoint you, we may need to contact you for more information.
Payments
If you're acting as an appointee, any tax credits payments will be made to you. If an overpayment happens, these tax credit payments will be reduced, or you may be asked to make a direct payment to pay back the money.
When an appointment ends
If you no longer want to act as an appointee, you can write to us giving one month's notice at:
Tax Credit Office
Preston
PR1 0SB
We can end an appointment at any time. If another person is appointed to act by a court of law you should tell us immediately as you will no longer be the appointee for the claimant.
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).
