If you're new to tax credits, contact the Tax Credit Helpline for a claim form. You can’t apply online or download the form, and it takes up to 2 weeks to arrive.

You don't need a claim form if you're already claiming tax credits - just call the helpline to update your claim.

You can apply for tax credits as a single person or as a couple (known as a 'joint claim').

Tax Credit Helpline
Telephone: 0345 300 3900
Textphone: 0345 300 3909
Outside the UK: +44 2890 538 192
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday 8am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

When you call

Before you’re sent the form, you'll be asked for certain information and given an estimate of how much you’ll get. What you’re asked for can include:

• your National Insurance number (if you have one)
• your income for the last tax year
• details of any benefits you get
• details of any childcare payments
• the number of hours you work a week

Where to send the form

The address is on the form. If you claim benefits you can give it to your Jobcentre Plus, or Social Security Office if you live in Northern Ireland.

Penalties

You may be charged a penalty (up to £3,000) if you give wrong information:

• fraudulently (on purpose)
• negligently (you didn't take enough care)

You won't get a penalty if you made a mistake but took reasonable care when making a claim.

Get help with your application

You’re sent guidance notes with your claim form. You can also get help from the Tax Credit Office, your benefits office or an organisation like Citizens Advice.

Someone else can claim tax credits for you. They can apply for authorisation to speak to the Tax Credit Office on your behalf or become an ‘appointee’ to manage your payments.

You can claim tax credits at any time of the year.

Usually, tax credits are backdated by up to 1 month from the start of your claim.

Apply as soon as you know you’re eligible to get all the money you’re entitled to.

Example:

Your baby was born on 1 September.

You claim tax credits on 1 January so your tax credits get backdated to 1 December.

If you’d claimed by 1 October you’d have been getting tax credits from 1 September.

What you need to know

You don’t have to wait to apply if your income is going to drop to a level that means you’ll be eligible for tax credits.

Your claim start date will be earlier if you apply now. Payments are backdated from the claim start date, so the earlier this date, the more you’ll get.

Example:
You know your income will drop on 1 December, but you wait until 1 December to apply - your tax credits are backdated to 1 November.

If you’d applied on 1 July, they would have been backdated to 1 June (meaning you’d get an extra 5 months of tax credits).

You might know your income is going to drop if, for example, you or your partner are being made redundant, leaving a job or taking a pay cut.

The income levels for Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are different.

You can apply for tax credits as a single person, or as a couple (known as a ‘joint claim’) if you’re both 16 or over and living in the UK.

Usually, you must make a joint claim if:

• you're married or in a civil partnership (and not permanently or legally separated)
• you live with your partner as though you're married or in a civil partnership
• you're temporarily living away from one another - eg looking after a relative or working abroad for the government or for less than 8 weeks

Exceptions

You don’t always make a joint claim because you have a partner. For example, make a single claim if:

• you live in the UK but your partner lives abroad and you don’t have any children
• you live in the UK but your partner and children live outside the EEA or Switzerland (unless your partner works for the government)
• you both live abroad and you don’t have any children, you regularly travel to the UK for work and your partner doesn’t work in the UK

Explain your circumstance to the Tax Credit Helpline to find out if you should make a joint claim and tell them if your work or relationship status changes.

You must pay back any tax credits you're not entitled to if you don't make the right sort of application.

When you make a claim your tax credits are usually backdated by up to 1 month.

How to get tax credits backdated

Usually, you don't have to do anything - it happens automatically. The date they're backdated to is shown on your award notice.

Exceptions

You have to ask for your tax credits to be backdated if you get:

• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based)
• Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)
• Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit and you're not claiming for any children

To do this include a page with your claim form confirming:

• your name, address and National Insurance number
• the date you started work
• if you're not in work - the date you started getting one of the benefits above

Backdating more than a month

Tax credit claims can sometimes be backdated by more than a month if you:

• claim certain sickness or disability benefits - eg Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment
• get refugee status

Send or update your claim within 1 month of finding out you’re entitled to the above. The Tax Credit Office will tell you how much more you'll get.

If you’re waiting on the decision about your refugee status or benefits (or your child’s benefits), make your tax credit claim now and contact the Tax Credit Office as soon as the decision is made.

Usually, what you’re entitled to is based on your income for the last tax year (6 April 2013 to 5 April 2014).

Income includes:

• pay - your earnings before tax and National Insurance (check your P60 or payslips if you’re employed, or your Self Assessment tax return if you’re self-employed)
• benefits from your employer (check your P11D or P9D)
• certain state benefits
• money from a pension - including your State Pension (if it’s more than £300 a year)
• interest on savings (if it’s more £300 a year)
• your partner’s income - if you make a joint claim

HMRC has detailed guidance if you need help working out your income.

Benefits

Income includes money from UK state benefits (or their foreign equivalents) unless they’re ‘tax-free’ benefits. Tax-free benefits include:

• Child Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• the foreign equivalents of UK tax-free benefits

To support your claim, keep records of your income, bills, payslips, benefits, tax credits, childcare and child's education for the current tax year and at least 2 years before that.

Put the number of hours you work in a normal week on your claim form.

Add all your hours together if you have more than 1 job.

If you’ve just started work put the hours you expect to work.