You only have seven days left to renew your tax credits

You’ve only got seven days left to renew your tax credits claim before the deadline of Wednesday 31 July. 

This is likely to be the last time you’ll renew your claim as everyone getting tax credits will be switched over to universal credit by April next year.  

You should have already received your renewal pack so you’ll need to follow the instructions or risk missing out on £1,000s – or even face having to pay money back. 

Some renewal packs need signing and sending back before the deadline, so make sure you don’t leave it any longer to avoid being paid the wrong amount.  

What are tax credits? 

There are two forms of tax credits – working tax and child tax credit. 

You can claim tax credits if you’re on a low income, you’re registered as disabled or you have dependent children. 

The amount you get depends on your situation but you’re looking at:

• up to £2,435 a year for the basic element of working tax credit 
• as much as £3,455 a year if you claim the child element of child tax credit 

How do I renew my tax credits? 

If you’re a current claimant and want to carry on receiving tax credits, your renewal pack should contain all the information you need. 

You’ll have got one of two different packs. Whether you need to respond to continue receiving tax credits depends on the pack you receive. 

If you received a pack with a red line across the first page that says ‘reply now’ 

You need to:

• confirm that your circumstances are correct 
• you can do this on the gov.uk website, on the HMRC app or by calling 0345 300 3900 

If you received a pack with a black line across the first page that says ‘check now’ 

You need to:

• check that your details are correct 
• if they are, you don’t need to do anything else and your tax credits will be renewed automatically  

If you didn’t get a renewal pack 

Your renewal pack should have been sent out before the middle of June. If you’ve still not got yours, you’ll need to contact the tax credits helpline between 8am and 6pm on weekdays (0345 300 3900). 

Wondering if you should claim tax credits? 

Tax credits are being phased out, so you can only get them if you’re renewing your claim. 

You can’t make a new claim for tax credits; you’ll need to apply for universal credit instead.  

If you think you might be missing out on benefits, we can check you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to. So get in touch or try our benefits calculator.