Tax credits customers only have until 31 July 2020 to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about changes to their circumstances or income.
Customers whose circumstances have changed in the last year or who have received a letter to reconfirm their income details must contact HMRC.
Failure to respond by the deadline it may mean that you will receive incorrect tax credits payments and may end up having to repay any overpayments.
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HMRC's Director General for Customer Services, Angela MacDonald, said:
"Tax credits provide much needed financial support to our customers. But we know that many customers leave it to the last minute to renew their tax credits award.
The time to renew your tax credits is now, you don’t need to wait until deadline day on 31 July."
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Customers who have received an annual review pack or text and have already made their declaration including confirming their income and circumstances, don’t need to do anything else.
If you disagree with any of the information in the pack or letter you must contact HMRC as soon as possible. You must inform HMRC immediately of any changes, or are self-employed and have yet to file their tax return.
Renewing tax credits online is quick and easy. Customers can log onto GOV.UK to check the progress of their renewal, be reassured that it is being processed and know when they will hear back from HMRC.
Customers can use the HMRC App on their smartphone to:
Customers can get help and information on renewing tax credits:
In April, it was announced Working Tax Credit customers would receive up to £20 extra each week from 6 April 2020 until 5 April 2021 as part of a number of measures to support the country during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
To establish how the total income was calculated, or report any changes use the webchat service. Go to GOV.UK and search ‘tax credits general enquiries’.
Customers who are self-employed and have not filed their tax return for the 2019 to 2020 tax year, must estimate their profit or loss and report this to us online by 31 July 2020. If they do not tell us, we will finalise their award using the information we hold, and they will not be able to change it at a later date. Once they have provided an estimate, they will need to contact us again when they know their actual income, by no later than 31 January 2021.
Tax credits will gradually be replaced by Universal Credit. Customers cannot receive tax credits and Universal Credit at the same time. For more information, they need to go to the Universal Credit page on GOV.UK.
