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

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Protect your right to tax credits by claiming early

Protect your right to tax credits by claiming early

Sometimes it's worth making a tax credits claim even if you think that you're not going to be paid anything. You might want to do this if your income is too high at the moment, but it might go down later in the year.

Why make a claim if you won't get any tax credits?

When you make a claim for tax credits, any payments you're entitled to can usually only be backdated by up to three months. However, by claiming early, that is before you think you might be able to get tax credits, any future payments will be protected against only being backdated by three months.

If you think your income will go down

If you're expecting your income to go down, you should make a tax credits claim at the start of the year just in case this happens. Any tax credit payments will then be backdated to the date you made your claim. You might want to do this if for example, you're self-employed or your work is seasonal, or you might be made redundant.

Example 1

Maria knows that her income is too high for her to get tax credits now but she also knows that her firm will be closing down and she will be made redundant later in the year, so her income is likely to go down.

She makes a claim for tax credits on 6 April and receives an award notice telling her that she will not be paid any tax credits because her income is too high. On 10 October when her firm closes down, she contacts the Tax Credit Helpline and tells them that her income has gone down. They send her a new award notice showing the tax credits she is entitled to from 6 April.

If you've applied for disability benefits

You should also go ahead and make a claim for Working Tax Credit if you've got a disability and you're waiting to find out whether you'll get a disability benefit which would mean that you qualify for Working Tax Credit, such as Disability Living Allowance.

Example 2

Matthew is a single man working 20 hours a week. He makes a claim for Disability Living Allowance on 1 March. He then realises that he might be able to get Working Tax Credit too so he makes a claim on 20 April. He sends a note with his tax credits claim form to say he has made a claim for Disability Living Allowance.

His claim for Working Tax Credit is rejected as he is not yet receiving Disability Living Allowance and he is working less than 30 hours a week. That's not enough hours for him to qualify.

His claim for Disability Living Allowance is awarded on 1 September and backdated to 1 March. He calls the Tax Credit Helpline to tell them on 30 September. He can now get the disability element of Working Tax Credit because he is receiving Disability Living Allowance and so only needs to work 16 hours or more a week to qualify. His Working Tax Credit payments are backdated to 1 March.

If Matthew hadn't made his claim in April, his tax credit payments would only have been backed by three months to 30 June.

Claiming tax credits and disability benefits

When your tax credits claim can be backdated

When to claim

Don't delay in making your tax credits claim - it's best to claim as soon as possible so that you get all the money you're entitled to.

Tax credits are paid for a full tax year. A tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the next. To protect your right to tax credits, we must receive your claim within three months of the start of the tax year, so by 5 July.

If you make a claim for tax credits on 1 July, but you don't qualify until 1 November - when your income goes down, we will backdate your payments to 6 April.

However if you wait and make the same claim on 6 September - because this has missed the deadline for protective claims, your payments will only be backdated by three months - to 6 June. So you'll miss out on two month's payments.

How to claim

To claim tax credits you have to fill in a claim form. You can order a tax credits claim pack from the Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909.

The helpline is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

You can fill the form in yourself and send it back by post. If you need any help completing the form you can call the Tax Credit Helpline who will be happy to provide further advice.

If you claim other benefits, such as Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, your Jobcentre Plus - or in Northern Ireland, a Social Security office - will help you with your tax credits claim form.

How to claim tax credits

If you are already getting tax credits

If you've made a claim for a disability benefit for yourself or a child, for example Disability Living Allowance, you may be able to get extra tax credits. Don't wait for the decision before telling the Tax Credit Office. Tell us as soon as you make your claim by calling the Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909.

Disabled people and tax credits

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).