5 August 2013

Missed the tax credits renewal deadline?

The annual tax credits renewal deadline has now passed. It is possible that some claimants may have missed the deadline, either because they couldn’t get through to the helpline or for some other reason.

HMRC will shortly begin to stop payments on those claims that haven’t been renewed but it is still worth phoning the helpline to try and renew even if they missed the deadline. If payments haven’t yet stopped, then HMRC should be able to process the renewal without any interruption.

Once payments stop due to late renewal, HMRC will send letters out to claimants called a ‘Statement of Account’. This year, claimants will still be able to get their award restored and complete their renewal provided they phone HMRC to renew within 60 days of the date on their Statement of Account letter. Tax credits legislation normally only allows a 30 day 'grace' period but HMRC have once again this year extended the statutory limit. 

Anyone who fails to contact within that 60 day period will only be able to get their award restored if they contact HMRC by 31 January 2014 and can show they had good reason for not renewing earlier, for example serious hospitalisation. Otherwise they will need to make a fresh claim if they want to receive tax credits again and any tax credits paid from 6 April 2013 to the date payments were stopped will be recovered as an overpayment. 

This does not affect the rules for those claimants who declare an estimate of income for 2012-13 on their renewal and have up to 31 January 2014 to tell HMRC their actual income figure.

You can find more information about the annual renewals cycle here (http://www.revenuebenefits.org.uk/tax-credits/guidance/how-do-tax-credits-work/the-yearly-cycle/renewals/)