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Money, tax and benefits
Checking your tax credits award notice
If you qualify for tax credits, the Tax Credit Office will send you an award notice telling you how much you will get - based on the information you gave on your claim form. You need to check the award notice carefully and tell the Tax Credit Office within one month if anything is wrong, missing or incomplete.
What is an award notice?
The award notice is in three parts:
- section 1 is about you
- section 2 tells you how the Tax Credit Office worked out your tax credits
- section 3 is what the Tax Credit Office will pay you
It tells you:
- the type or types of tax credits you will get
- how much you will get
- what you told the Tax Credit Office, and how they have used this to work out what to pay you
- what changes you need to tell the Tax Credit Office about, and when you need to tell them
- how and when the Tax Credit Office will pay your tax credits
You will get a checklist with your award notice that tells you what information you have to check and how to tell the Tax Credit Office about any changes.
You should keep the award notice in a safe place.
When will you receive an award notice?
Your first award notice
The Tax Credit Office sends you an award notice following your claim for tax credits. The tax credits payments you get throughout the year are temporary, or 'provisional'. This means that they are paid to you throughout the year based on your current circumstances and your income from last year. Between April and June each year the Tax Credit Office asks you to renew your claim, this helps them to check that the payments they've made to you are correct.
Amended award notice
You need to tell the Tax Credit Office about any changes in your circumstance during the year so that you are not paid too much or too little tax credits. For example, you'll need to tell them if you split up from your partner, or if you start working fewer hours. When you do this, or when there are any other changes, they will send you an amended tax credits award notice. They aim to do this within 30 days of you telling them about the change. If you don't receive one within 30 days, let the Tax Credit Office know as soon as possible.
Final award notice
After the end of the year you need to renew your tax credits claim. This helps the Tax Credit Office to check that the payments they have made to you are correct based on your actual circumstances. Sometimes they will have paid you too much or not enough. If this happens they will either make an adjustment to your payments, or if you have been paid too much but you're no longer getting tax credits, they will ask you to make a direct payment - a one off payment for the full amount.
When you have renewed your tax credits claim, the Tax Credit Office will send you an award notice with a final decision for the year that ended on 5 April. Although the decision is final, you still need to check the award notice carefully and tell the Tax Credit Office if anything is missing, wrong or incomplete.
You'll also be sent a separate award notice, telling you what your payments will be for the current tax year.
In some cases you won't need to respond to your renewal pack because:
- nothing has changed in your personal situation
- your income is still in the limits shown in your Annual Review notice
- there are no mistakes or missing details in your Annual Review notice
In this case your tax credits are automatically renewed, and your final decision is shown on the Annual Review notice that was in your renewal pack. You'll be sent no further award notices unless your circumstances change.
What to do when you get an award notice
It is the Tax Credit Office's responsibility to put the right information on your award notice based on information you give them.
It is important that you check your award notice when you get one. Use the checklist that came with it to tell the Tax Credit Office if anything is wrong, missing or incomplete, or if there's anything you don't understand. You can do this by calling the Tax Credit Helpline. You should do this within one month of getting it.
If when you check your award notice, you realise you made a mistake on your tax credits claim form, you will need to ring the Tax Credit Helpline straightaway.
The new information you give might mean you get more tax credits - or less.
Tell the Tax Credit Office about any changes
If you wait before telling the Tax Credit Office if anything is wrong, it may mean you are not getting all the money you are entitled to, or you could be building up an overpayment that you may have to pay back.
Contact the Tax Credit Helpline if you need help with your award notice, for example:
- you don't understand the information shown
- you're not sure if the Tax Credit Office have made a mistake
- you don't receive one within one month of telling the Tax Credit Office about a change in circumstance
If you tell the Tax Credit Office straight away that there is a mistake on your award notice, they will put it right and send you a new one. In this case you may not have to pay back any overpayment.
Checking your tax credits payments
It is also important to check the amount of money going into your bank account. Part 3 of your award notice - Payment dates and amounts - will show your first payment, plus the amount to be paid every week or every four weeks. If a payment doesn't match the amount on your award notice call the Tax Credit Helpline as soon as possible.
Contact the Tax Credit Office
If you need more help you can call the Tax Credit Helpline on 0845 300 3900, or textphone 0845 300 3909 if you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day).
If you're calling from overseas you can also contact the Tax Credit Office on +44 289 053 8192.
