In this section:
- Which state benefits to report when making a tax credits claim
- Income from employment - work it out for your tax credits claim
- Employer benefits - work them out for your tax credits claim
- Self-employment income - work it out for your tax credits claim
- Other income - how to work it out for your tax credits claim
- How to work out usual working hours for your tax credits claim
Employer benefits - work them out for your tax credits claim
When the Tax Credit Office works out your tax credit payments, they take into account the value of certain benefits you receive from your employer like mileage allowance payments for using your own car, or a company car and fuel. These are called benefits in kind.
On this page:
- Benefits from your employer
- If you've had more than one employer
- Reporting a change in income
- Contact the Tax Credit Office
- More useful links
Benefits from your employer
Benefits in kind from your employer aren't paid as wages but they are taxable. When you fill in your claim form or renew your tax credits claim with the Annual Declaration form, you'll need to give the total cash value or taxable amount of any benefits you've received. You don't have to work out the amount of each individual benefit - your employer will tell you the taxable values on your P11D or P9D form.
Benefits from your employer that you need to include on your form are:
- Any mileage allowance payments over the tax free approved amount. Enter the amount shown in section E of your P11D. Also include running costs your employer has paid for - shown in section E or included in section N.
- A company car - shown in box 9 of section F of your P11D.
- Car fuel - shown in box 10 of section F of your P11D.
- Expenses payments made to you unless they were business expenses - shown in section J, M or N of your P11D, or section A (1) of your P9D.
- Goods and assets your employer has given to you, for example gifts of food and drink - shown in section A of your P11D, or section A (2) of your P9D in the third or fourth boxes.
- Payments made by your employer on your behalf, for example if your employer paid your rent directly to your landlord - shown in section B of your P11D, in the first box numbered 15, or section A (2) of your P9D in the first, second and fifth boxes.
- Vouchers or credit tokens, for example company credit cards - shown in section C of your P11D, or section B of your P9D (add together all the boxes). Don't include the cash equivalent of childcare vouchers if they are used to pay for registered or approved childcare.
To calculate your benefits, add the value of all these benefits together and round the total down to the nearest pound. For example, if the total value is £256.73, then you should put £256 on your form.
For help calculating the value of your benefits, use the worksheet in the notes that came with your tax credits claim form or renewal pack, or call the Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or Textphone 0845 300 3909.
Download notes on making a tax credits claim (PDF 2.6MB)
If you've had more than one employer
If you've had more than one employer during the tax year - a tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the next - you may have received more than one P11D or P9D form. You need to add together the totals from each form to show the total amount of benefits received from all of your employers.
Reporting a change in income
The amount of tax credits you get depends on your annual income. It's a good idea to tell the Tax Credit Office if you:
- expect that your annual income - including benefits in kind - for the current tax year will be less than your annual income for the previous tax year
- expect that your annual income - including benefits in kind - for the current tax year will be more than your annual income for the previous tax year
If you don't tell them, you may not get all of the money you're entitled to or you may have to pay back an overpayment.
Find out how to report changes in income
Contact the Tax Credit Office
If you need more help you can call the Tax Credit 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.
More useful links
Income from employment - work it out for your tax credits claim
Self-employment income - work it out for your tax credits claim
Other income - how to work it out for your tax credits claim
