1 April 2021

One-off £500 payment

HMRC have provided some information about the £500 one-off payment for working households who receive tax credits.

The information below is from HMRC and we will also be publishing additional detail shortly.

HMRC's information reads as follows:

New one-off £500 payment for eligible working households receiving tax credits – additional information to support our customers.

As part of the Spring 2021 Budget, the Chancellor announced a new one-off £500 payment for working households receiving tax credits.

The UK Government introduced the new one-off payment to provide extra support as the temporary increase in Working Tax Credit (WTC), introduced at the start of the pandemic, will end as planned on 5 April 2021.

Customers may get the one-off £500 payment if, on 2 March 2021, they were receiving either:

  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit and were eligible for Working Tax Credit but did not get a payment because their income is too high to get Working Tax Credit payments

Customers do not need to apply for the payment: it’s automatic so they don’t need to call HMRC. We expect that all customers will have received their payment by 23 April. There’s more information on the new one-off £500 payment-on GOV.UK.

HMRC contact about the payment

This week we’ve started to contact our customers directly about the payment.

Text messages will be sent to customers we have contact details for. This message reads:

HMRC: One-off £500 payment by 23 April for working households receiving tax credits – it's automatic so no action needed. Search 'one-off payment' on GOV.UK

From 19 April we will also be sending letters to eligible households to confirm that they will receive the one-off £500 payment.

Messages we send to customers will not include a link and customers do not need to take any action to receive the payments. Customers should be reminded to stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic HMRC messages as a way of appearing authentic.

How will the payment be made?

The payment will be made automatically into the same bank account that customers tax credits are usually paid to. If a customer receives Child Tax Credit, it will be the bank account their Child Tax Credit is paid to.

If customers need to tell us if they have changed their contact or bank details, they have until 8 April 2021 to ensure the payment goes into the new account.

How can customers check if they have received the payment?

The online Tax Credits service will not show the one-off £500 payment, so customers should check their bank records for the reference ‘HMRC C19 Support’ instead.

If a customer’s bank record does not show the payment by the end of April, they should contact us on 0345 300 3900. They should not contact us before the end of April to keep our lines free for those who need further support.

Does the payment need to be declared as income and will it affect benefits?

Customers will not need to pay Income Tax or National Insurance on the amount of this one-off payment and it does not need to be declared in a Self-Assessment return. Customers also do not need to declare the payment for tax credit claims or renewals. It will not affect any other benefits, such as Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, that they may receive.

Source: HMRC information sent to stakeholders.