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?
You haven't reported a change - what happens to your tax credits?
Tax credits are flexible and change when your life changes. So tell us straight away about any changes. If you wait you may not be getting all the money you are entitled to, or you could be building up an overpayment that you may have to pay back.
What happens if you don't tell us about a change?
It is your responsibility to tell us about any change of circumstance that affects your tax credits, for example if you separate from your partner. As soon as you tell us about a change, we will recalculate your payments and send you an amended award notice.
If you wait to tell us about a change that affects your tax credit payments, you may:
- not be getting all the money you're entitled to
- be paid too much money (an overpayment)
- have to pay a penalty of up to £300
So tell us straight away so that the information we have about you is correct and up to date. If you don't tell us about a change, we won't know about it until you confirm your actual circumstances when you renew your tax credits after the end of the year. At this point we check whether you received all the money you were entitled to. It may turn out that you didn't get all the money you should. Or if you got too much money, your current tax credits payments - if you still qualify, are usually reduced to repay the money.
Tax credits - rights and responsibilities
What happens if you're late telling us about a change?
Changes you must tell us about within a month
Some changes mean that your tax credit payments will go down, for example you stop working or your child leaves full-time education. You must tell us about such changes within one month, or you will end up with an overpayment and may get charged a penalty of up to £300. Any reduction in your payments will be backdated to the date of the change.
Other changes you should tell us about
Some changes in circumstance mean your tax credit payments will go up, such as having a baby. Although you don't need to tell us within one month, it's better to do it straight away as your increase in tax credit payments can only be backdated by up to three months. So if you had a baby on 12 June but you didn't tell us until 12 October, we could only give you the extra money from 12 July. You would miss out on one month's extra payment.
The checklist that came with your award notice will tell you which changes to report within one month of them happening. It's also a good idea to tell us about any other changes straight away to avoid an overpayment.
Check which changes you need to tell us about and when
Find out why it's so important to tell us about a change
Contact us
You can tell us about a change by contacting 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
You've been overpaid tax credits - how did this happen?
