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.

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 no later than 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 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, Employment and Support Allowance 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

Contact the Tax Credit Office

If you need more help you can call the Tax Credits Helpline which is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. The numbers you can ring are:

tel 0845 300 3900
textphone 0845 300 3909 - if you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment

If you're calling from overseas you can also contact the Tax Credit Office on Tel + 44 289 053 8192.