Tax credits for cross-border workers

If you regularly travel from another country - such as the Republic of Ireland or France - to work in the UK you may be able to get Working Tax Credit. If you have a child you could also get Child Tax Credit. The tax credits - and the amount - you can get depends on your income and circumstances.

On this page:

Can you get tax credits?
What tax credits can you get?
Countries that are in the EEA
What Working Tax Credit payments could you qualify for?
What Child Tax Credit payments could you qualify for?
How much could you get?
Contact the Tax Credit Office
More useful links

Can you get tax credits?

Whether or not you can get tax credits depends on:

your circumstances, for example how many hours you work each week or if you have children
how much money you've got coming in - your income

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What tax credits can you get?

You may be able to get Working Tax Credit if both of the following apply:

You live in a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.
You work in the UK, meaning you actually have to do your work in the UK. It's not enough just to work for an employer who's based in the UK.

You don't need to have children to get Working Tax Credit.

You will normally get Working Tax Credit as a single person, even if you're part of a couple. But if your partner also works in the UK, you will get Working Tax Credit as a couple.

Find out how work can help you qualify for tax credits

When to make a joint or single tax credits claim

If you have children

You and your partner - if you have one - might be able to get Child Tax Credit for your children if:

you work in the UK
you pay National Insurance contributions as a worker here
your child lives in an EEA country or in Switzerland and is living with your partner or someone else and they depend on you to support them

You can't claim:

Child Tax Credit for a child who lives outside the EEA or Switzerland unless you or your partner is a Crown Servant working abroad
the childcare element of Working Tax Credit to help you pay for childcare costs - unless your children are in registered or approved childcare in the UK

Find out more about getting tax credits if your family is outside the UK

Learn about extra tax credits if you have childcare costs

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Countries that are in the EEA

The countries in the EEA along with the UK 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 and Sweden.

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What Working Tax Credit payments could you qualify for?

Working Tax Credit is made up of a number of ‘elements’, or payments, that you may qualify for. Depending on your personal circumstances, you could get the:

basic element
couple element
lone parent element
'30 hour' element - if you work 30 hours a week or more
disability element
severe disability element
childcare element
50-plus element

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What Child Tax Credit payments could you qualify for?

Child Tax Credit is made up of a number of 'elements', or payments, that you may qualify for. Depending on your family circumstances, you could get the:

family element
family element paid for all children under the age of one
child element
disability element
severe disability element

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How much could you get?

How much you could get depends on the 'elements' you qualify for and your income. Your income could include other benefits you get, perhaps from other countries. The lower your income, the more tax credits you can get.

How your tax credits entitlement is worked out

Tax credits questionnaire - find out how much you can get

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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 outside the UK you can also contact the Tax Credit Office on Tel + 44 289 053 8192.

You can ask the Helpline for someone to translate for you when you call.

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