To be entitled to tax credits, you must claim them. There is no entitlement without a claim. Claims are made using paper form TC600. Previously it was possible to claim online, however the online claims facility is currently closed. It is not expected to reopen in the forseeable future. In the meantime to get a claim form you need to contact the Tax Credits helpline on 0345 300 3900.
It is standard procedure for the Tax Credits helpline to ask for your name, address and National Insurance number when you request a claim form. HMRC introduced a more stringent security procedure in 2009 whereby they require people to answer questions based on their Experian credit data.
It appears that if you cannot answer these questions, HMRC are refusing to speak further to claimants unless you attend an interview at an enquiry centre. We understand that claim forms are still being issued even if you cannot answer the security questions. If you do not have a national insurance number, you will not be able to go through the security procedure. However, HMRC staff have an alternative set of questions for such situations.
However, you should not be refused a claim form if you do not have a national insurance number, nor for any other reason.
We have also been informed by some claimants that the tax credit helpline have refused to send out a claim form if they think a claimant's income is presently too high, or that they do not qualify for some other reason. This should not happen. If it does, you should contact a welfare rights adviser (such as your local Citizens Advice) immediately.
To find out whether you are eligible to claim tax credits, see Who can claim?.
You can backdate a claim to tax credits if the circumstances entitling you to tax credits have subsisted for the period of the backdating. But a claim may generally only be backdated by a maximum of 31 days (this was 93 days prior to 6 April 2012).
Most awards of working tax credit (WTC) and child tax credit (CTC) are backdated automatically. CTC claims are normally backdated to the date of birth of the child, or by 31 days, whichever gives the shorter period.
If you are returning to work after leaving benefits and claiming WTC, then it is likely that you will receive automatic backdating. However, those who are claiming WTC for the first time will not receive automatic backdating and must request it.
There is currently nowhere on the claim form to ask for this backdating. You should attach a letter to your claim form requesting backdating. Alternatively, you should contact the helpline and ask them for the backdating.
They should refer your request to the backdating team in the Tax Credit Office. If this does not happen, you should ask to make a complaint and should submit an appeal against your first award notice within 30 days of the date on the notice.
Your appeal should explain why you think your award should have started on an earlier date. See our guidance on appeals here.
It is understood, however, that if you are entitled to WTC and CTC you will get the equivalent backdating for WTC (even though it is not always the case that it is due!) This is done because the entitlement to CTC may have established the entitlement to WTC; for example, the claimant may be less than 25 years old, and therefore would not have been entitled to WTC unless they had had responsibility for a child.
There are two situations in which it is possible to get backdating of more than 93 days:
- Backdating for those obtaining refugee status
- Backdating of disability elements
Refugee status
If a person has claimed asylum as a refugee and is then awarded refugee status, providing they apply for tax credits within one month of receiving notification of that refugee status, they will be treated as if they made their tax credits claim from the original date they claimed asylum. This time limit was three months prior to 6 April 2012.
Example 1 Faizah claimed asylum as a refugee on 12 May 2008 and was granted refugee status on 10 April 2012. She applies for tax credits on 8 May 2012 (within one month). The claim for tax credits is treated as being made on the date she claimed asylum (12 May 2008).
Example 2 Zabia claimed asylum as a refugee on 28 September 2008 and was granted refugee status on 10 April 2012. She applies for tax credits on 29 May 2012 (more than one month after notification of her refugee status). Her tax credits are backdated by only one month from the date she applied.
It is important to note that any backdated amount due will be reduced by any support received under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (such as NASS payments) unless any DWP backdating has already been reduced to take these payments into account.
Disability elements
Backdating is also possible by more than 31 days where entitlement to one of the disability elements is dependent upon an award of a qualifying benefit. The rules for backdating disability elements changed on 06 April 2009.
Prior to 06 April 2009, when you applied for tax credits, HMRC asked you to attach a letter to the claim form if you had applied for one of the qualifying benefits but had not yet received a decision. Providing you then notified HMRC within three months of the award of that qualifying benefit, backdating should have been given to the date from which the disability benefit was awarded or from the date of claim whichever was the later.
If you had an ongoing tax credits award, you had to notify HMRC both when you applied for the qualifying benefit and then again within three months of it being awarded in order to receive backdating of more than three months.
From 6 April 2009, providing you notify HMRC within one month of being awarded the qualifying benefit, you will receive full backdating. There is no need to tell them when you apply for the benefit. Note that this time limit was three months prior to 6 April 2012.
Similarly, if your claim for tax credits is dependent on the qualifying benefit, providing you claim within 31 days of being awarded the benefit you can receive full backdating. Note that this time limit was 93 days prior to 6 April 2012.
Example of the old rules (prior to 6 April 2009)
Sandra is claiming tax credits. She applies for disability living allowance for her daughter Amy in April 2007. If awarded then Sandra will be entitled to have the child disability element included in her claim. Unfortunately the disability living allowance decision takes 6 months and Amy does not receive notification of her higher rate mobility award until October 2007.
Providing that Sandra notified HMRC that she claimed disability living allowance in April 2008, and again notified them within three months of the award in October 2008, Sandra will receive backdating of the disability element to April 2008.
However if Sandra failed to notify HMRC that she had applied for disability living allowance for Amy in April 2008, she would only be able to claim three months backdating from October 2008.
Example of the new rules (from 6 April 2009)
If Sandra applies for disability living allowance for Amy in April 2012, and it is not awarded until October 2012, providing Sandra tells HMRC of the award of DLA within one month she will receive backdating of the disability element to April 2012.She is not required to tell HMRC in April 2012 when she applies for DLA.
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