Tax credits are awarded for one tax year at a time with renewals having a deadline of 31 July. If you failed to renew by the end of last month, HMRC will stop making payments to you. If your payments have stopped you need to act quickly.
HMRC renews some claims automatically whereby you only need to contact HMRC if something on the notice is wrong or if any of your circumstances have changed. In all other cases HMRC will ask you to check the information and also give them details of your income and the reply is required by the 31 July deadline.
If you missed the 31 July deadline HMRC will not only stop your payments but also ask you to repay all payments you received since 6 April 2022. Fast action is required as it may be possible to get them re-started. You should receive a letter from HMRC informing you that you need to repay all payments you have received since 6 April. You need to contact HMRC to complete your renewal either before you receive the letter or within 30 days of when this is dated. HMRC would then be able to complete your renewal and re-instate your tax credits from 6 April enabling your Tax Credit award to continue. If you fail to do this the award can only be reinstated in very limited circumstances.
If you do not know your actual income for 2021/22, which is often the case for our self-employed clients, please do not wait. Renew with an estimate of your income but you will need to provide actual figures by 31 January 2023.
HMRC’s Tax Credits online service can be a useful way to check your award.
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