In this section:
Your tax credits payments are made every week or every four weeks, depending on what you chose when you claimed. If your usual payment day falls on a bank holiday, you'll get your payment earlier than normal.
On this page:
Your award notice tells you the date of your first payment. So you can use this to work out when your next payment is due - depending on how often you're paid.
Another way to find out is to look at your bank statement to check the date when your last payment went into your account.
From time to time, your normal payment day may fall on the same day as a bank holiday. This means you'll get your payment a few days earlier.
It doesn't matter whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If there's a bank holiday anywhere in the United Kingdom, you'll still get your payment earlier.
The table below tells you which payments will be made early, and when you should get paid.
Month |
Payment due date |
Date your payment will be made |
|---|---|---|
December |
26 Dec 2011 (bank holiday) |
23 Dec 2011 |
|
27 Dec 2011 (bank holiday) |
23 Dec 2011 |
|
28 Dec 2011 (Northern Ireland only) |
23 Dec 2011 |
January |
2 Jan 2012 (bank holiday) |
30 Dec 2011 |
|
3 Jan 2012 (Scotland only) |
30 Dec 2011 |
March |
19 Mar 2012 (Northern Ireland only) |
16 Mar 2012 |
April |
6 Apr 2012 (Good Friday) |
5 Apr 2012 |
|
9 Apr 2012 (Easter Monday) |
5 Apr 2012 |
May |
7 May 2012 (early May bank holiday) |
4 May 2012 |
June |
4 Jun 2012 (spring bank holiday) |
1 Jun 2012 |
|
5 Jun 2012 (Queen's Diamond Jubilee) |
1 Jun 2012 |
July |
12 Jul 2012 (Northern Ireland only) |
11 Jul 2012 |
August |
6 Aug 2012 (Scotland only) |
3 Aug 2012 |
|
27 Aug 2012 (summer bank holiday) |
24 Aug 2012 |
November |
30 Nov 2012 (St Andrew's Day - Scotland only) |
29 Nov 2012 |
December |
25 Dec 2012 (Christmas Day) |
24 Dec 2012 |
|
26 Dec 2012 (Boxing Day) |
24 Dec 2012 |
|
27 Dec 2012 (Northern Ireland only) |
24 Dec 2012 |
If you haven't been paid you should double check your bank account. Sometimes electronic banking systems aren't completely up to date. It's possible that your payment is in your account, but not showing on your statement just yet.
Or it could be that you've recently moved and haven't told the Tax Credit Office your new address. If the Tax Credit Office can't contact you, they may stop your tax credits payments. You can prevent this from happening by letting them know in good time if you change address.
If you need further help or advice you can call the Tax Credit Helpline.
Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline
Check online to find out when your next Child Benefit payment is due
Checking your tax credits award notice
Reasons why your tax credits might go down or stop
