Find out how work can help you qualify for tax credits

Working Tax Credit is based on the hours you work and get paid for, or expect to be paid for, either as an employee or a self-employed person. Unpaid work doesn't count as work when claiming tax credits. Check if your work can help you qualify for tax credits.

On this page:

What hours do you need to work to get tax credits?
What counts as paid work?
What doesn't count as paid work?
When to claim
If you're temporarily absent from work
What happens if you leave your paid work or change your hours?
Contact the Tax Credit Office
More useful links

What hours do you need to work to get tax credits?

There are different hours you need to work to qualify, depending on:

your age
if you are responsible for children or not
if you have a disability

You aren’t responsible for children:

if you are aged 25 or over, you need to do paid work of at least 30 hours a week
if you have a disability and are 16 or over, you need to do paid work of at least 16 hours a week
if you or your partner are aged 50 or over and are going back to work after being on out of work benefits, such as Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, you need to do paid work of at least 16 hours a week

You have a disability - can you get extra tax credits

Tax credits information for the over 50s

You are responsible for children:

You need to be aged 16 or over to and do paid work of at least 16 hours a week.

Find out more about having children and getting tax credits

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What counts as paid work?

If you're an employee, paid work means:

the work you do for your employer in return for payment (or where you would expect to be paid) such as wages
any ‘payment in kind’ (for example groceries for a person who works as a shop assistant, or farm produce for a farm labourer)

If you're self-employed, paid work means any work you do for payment (or would expect to be paid) or profit.

To claim Working Tax Credit, you should expect your paid work to continue for at least four weeks.

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What doesn't count as paid work?

If any of the following apply to you, the work won’t count for Working Tax Credit purposes:

you are a student and do work as part of studying for a degree or other qualification (any grant or loan you get is for maintenance and is not paid in return for work done on the course
you are a student nurse and you get an NHS Bursary and other grants or loans for work done on the course
you work for a charity or a voluntary organisation where you get no pay or you only get expenses
you work for a local authority, health authority charitable or voluntary organisation caring for someone who’s not a member of your household - and where the only payment you receive is covered by the Rent a Room scheme
you’re on strike for more than ten days in a row
you work in a scheme where you get a training allowance, rather than pay - unless the allowance is taxable
you take part in the Intensive Activity Period or Preparation for Employment Programme - unless the payment received is taxable
you take part in an activity where a sports award has been made and no other payments have been made or are expected to be made
you take part in an Employment Zone programme where no other payments have been made (except for discretionary payments such as a training premium or fee, grant, loan or arrears of expenses paid as a lump sum)
you are serving a custodial sentence or have been remanded in custody awaiting trial or sentence

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When to claim

You need to be in paid work at the time you make your claim, or starting paid work within seven days of making your claim. You will only get Working Tax Credit if you actually start this paid work.

How to claim tax credits

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If you're temporarily absent from work

You may still get Working Tax Credit when you're on sick leave or on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, as long as you usually worked a certain number of hours immediately before you went on leave.

Tax credits when you can't work due to illness

Maternity, paternity and adoption leave and tax credits

Temporary gaps in work when claiming tax credits

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What happens if you leave your paid work or change your hours?

You may not be able to get Working Tax Credit if you:

Leave work or you start to work less than the minimum number of hours a week.
Leave your job and receive pay instead of notice because you won't be counted as being in work for Working Tax Credit purposes during that period. But if you get another job during that time, you may still qualify based on your new job.

If you’re already getting Working Tax Credit, your payments may carry on for a short while. Tell the Office straight away if your work circumstances change. This is so that they can make sure you don't get too much or too little in the way of tax credits.

Find out more about changes to your usual working hours and tax credits

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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.

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