Tax Credits
The tax credits system ended on 5 April 2025. This section of the site remains in place for ongoing tax credit issues such as tax credit debts, disputes, appeals, complaints and compliance checks.
Universal credit is now the main means-tested financial support for working-age people in the UK. Most tax credit claimants were moved to either universal credit or pension credit. Until 5 April 2025, there were two tax credits – child tax credit and working tax credit. You could get one or both of them, depending on your household circumstances.
Working tax credit was paid to people who worked and were on a low income. Child tax credit was paid to people with children. It was paid in addition to child benefit and you did not have to be working to get it.
Tax credits were administered by HM Revenue & Customs.
Now that tax credits have ended and universal credit is available across the UK, new claims for tax credits are no longer possible. There are some limited circumstances where backdated claims or notification of a change of circumstances can be possible for certain people who are granted refugee status or certain people who have been awarded a backdated qualifying disability element and, as a result, are entitled to some backdated tax credits.
Latest updates
New Upper Tribunal judgment (13 March 2025): IRD v His Majesty's Revenue & Customs | [2025] UKUT 061 (AAC) | UA-2024-001052-TC UA-2024-001053-TC - Trader of financial futures with no clients or profit could not be considered self-employed for the purposes of working tax credit >> More tax credits case law
New regulations (6 January 2025): Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025 (SI.No.3/2025) Make amendments and modifications to various social security regulations relating to universal credit, pension credit, housing benefit and tax credits >> More tax credit legislation
New uprating regulations (29 February 2024): Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Uprating Regulations 2024 (SI.No.247/2024) - New regulations that set the rates of working tax credit, child tax credit, child benefit and guardian's allowance from April 2024 >> More tax credit legislation
New tax credit regulations (22 February 2024): Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024 (SI.No.176/2024) - New regulations make miscellaneous amendments to tax credit regulations including new disregards of certain compensation payments and changes relating to the roll out of Scottish disability assistance >> More tax credit legislation
New Court of Appeal decision (22 January 2024): Commissioners for His Majesty's Revenue and Customs v Arrbab [2024] EWCA Civ 16 - Court of Appeal rules that section 38(1A) Tax Credits Act 2002 provisions that prevent appeals following HMRC refusal to extend time to seek review are ‘ultra vires’ the enabling legislation >> More tax credits case law
New regulations (26 October 2023): Child Benefit and Tax Credits (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2023 (SI.No.1139/2023) - New regulations that ensure that both one-off and annuity payments made under the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme 2012 are to be disregarded in calculations of income >> More tax credit legislation