In this section:
- What are tax credits?
- Tax credits - do you qualify?
- What counts as a couple for tax credits?
- Children, childcare and tax credits
- Work and tax credits
- Disabled people and tax credits
- Can you claim tax credits if you live outside the UK?
- Going abroad temporarily and claiming tax credits
- New arrivals to the UK and tax credits
- Tax credits information for the over 50s
Can you claim tax credits if you live outside the UK?
There has to be a special reason for you to be able to claim tax credits if you live outside the UK. For example you may be a Crown Servant and you have been sent to work overseas by your employer.
When can you claim tax credits?
Normally you have to live in the UK to be able to claim tax credits. The UK is made up of:
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
It doesn't include the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
But you may be able to claim tax credits if you live outside the UK and you're:
- A Crown Servant who has been sent to work oversees by your employer. You may be a civil servant employed by the UK Government or a member of the armed forces.
- A citizen of Switzerland or a country that's in the European Economic Area (EEA), and you get a UK state benefit based on contributions you paid whilst you were employed or self-employed, such as a State Pension, Incapacity Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance.
- A citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland, and you work in the
UK and pay UK National Insurance contributions as an employed or self-employed
person.
You may also be able to claim tax credits if you don't live in the UK, but your partner works as a Crown Servant.
What are the EEA countries?
The European Economic Area (EEA) includes all the European Union (EU) member states plus a few others. These countries all have benefits arrangements or agreements with the UK.
EEA countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK).
If you're a Crown Servant posted overseas
When you work for the UK Government as a civil servant or a member of the armed forces you're a Crown Servant. If you have to work abroad you may be able to claim tax credits, just as if you were living in the UK. We'll treat you as being in the UK if:
- you were 'ordinarily resident' in the UK just before you were posted abroad
- you were in the UK just before you were posted abroad, and the reason you were in the UK was connected to your posting
If your partner's a Crown Servant posted overseas
If your partner's a Crown Servant working outside the UK, you may be able to claim tax credits if you:
- live with your partner while they work abroad
- live in the UK while your partner works abroad
You don't need to be ordinarily resident in the UK and you don't need close links with the UK to claim tax credits.
Ordinarily resident
Ordinarily resident means you normally live in the UK, and plan to stay here for the time being. When we decide if you're ordinarily resident in the UK we'll look at:
- where your settled home is
- where your close family live
- how long you've lived in the UK
- why you came to the UK
- if you plan to leave the UK for good in the next two or three years
As a Crown Servant, you can sometimes be posted abroad too quickly for us to treat you as ordinarily resident. But you can still claim tax credits if:
- you're in the UK just before you're posted abroad
- the reason you're in the UK is connected to your posting
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). If you're abroad you can also contact us on Tel 02890 538 192.
