Don't Forget to Contact Revenue & Customs

You can’t get Working Tax Credit unless you are working sixteen or more hours a week, so if you’re made redundant (or start working less than sixteen hours a week) you to need to inform the Revenue – you can telephone the Tax Credits helpline on 0845 300 3900.

Working Tax Credit continues for four weeks after you finish work, and counts as income in respect of any means tested benefits you claim in that period. Council Tax, Housing Benefit and Education Benefit are all ‘means tested’ benefits, so if you are eligible to claim any of those benefits (or any other means tested benefit) and you claim them in the first four weeks you are unemployed, Working Tax Credit will have to be taken into account.

If you have a partner who works full time you can continue to get Working Tax Credit based on their earnings. Where that is the case you have a choice:

• You can let the Revenue know immediately you stop work. The Revenue will then reassess you straight away – and you should get more Working Tax Credit. However, if you then get another job in the same financial year you MUST let the Revenue know straightaway. If you don’t you will be ‘overpaid’ Working Tax Credit and will have to pay it back later.


• You can wait until the end of the financial year, and get any underpayment of Working Tax Credit as a lump sum, or have it added to your next year's tax credits if you are still getting them because your partner is working.

There is a lot of information about Working Tax Credits at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits - and you can, of course, get independent advice from your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The important thing, of course, is to ensure that you advise the Revenue that your situation has changed as soon as possible after you stop working.