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Why it's important to renew your tax credits

You need to renew your tax credits so that the Tax Credit Office:

• has the right information about you
• knows if anything has changed that could affect the amount you are paid
• can make sure you are paid the correct amount for the coming tax year
• can check you were paid the correct amount during the last tax year

If you're paid more tax credits than you're entitled to (an 'overpayment') you will usually have to pay the money back.

A tax year starts on 6 April one year and ends on 5 April the following year.

Who needs to renew

You need to renew if you have been sent an Annual Declaration form (TC603D or TC603D2) with an Annual Review notice (TC603R).

You don't need to renew if you have only been sent an Annual Review notice (TC603R), as your claim will be renewed automatically.

Even if your claim is renewed automatically, you still need to tell the Tax Credit Office straightaway if:

• you have had any changes in circumstances
• your income is different to what's shown in the Annual Review notice
• there are mistakes or details missing from the notice

• Tax credits: changes you need to report and when

• Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline

Who gets a renewal pack

Everyone who makes a claim for tax credits during a tax year gets a renewal pack. This also applies if you:

• claimed tax credits but didn't get them because your income is too high (a 'nil' award)
• only got tax credits for part of the year

You get a separate renewal pack for each claim you have made during the year.

The forms in your pack

Your pack may include:

• just an Annual Review notice (TC603R) - sent out in an A5 size brown envelope
• an Annual Review notice (TC603R) plus an Annual Declaration form (TC603D or TC603D2) - both sent out in one A4 size white envelope

You'll just get an Annual Review notice if any of the following applies to you:

• you just get the Family element of Child Tax Credit
• you claimed tax credits but didn't get them because your income was too high
• you got Income Support, income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit for the whole of the last tax year

Your most recent award notice will give you details of your tax credits entitlement.

• Checking your tax credits award notice

• Help with the tax credits renewal pack

When you can expect the renewal pack

You can expect your pack between 17 April and 30 June. The Tax Credit Office doesn’t send all the packs out at once, and yours may not arrive until the end of this period.

The Tax Credit Office sends out the packs roughly as follows:

• both the Annual Declaration (TC603D or TC603D2) and Annual Review (TC603R) forms generally go out towards the beginning of this period
• the Annual Review (TC603R) forms only generally go out towards the end of this period

The first year of your tax credits claim

If you claimed:

• just before April, you can expect your pack around late June that same year
• after 6 April, you can expect your pack between April and 30 June the following year

What to do if you don't get a renewal pack

If you haven't received your renewal pack by 30 June 2012, you should contact the Tax Credit Helpline.

The Tax Credit Helpline will send you the renewal forms you need. You'll then have 30 days to renew or report a change in circumstances. Your payments will carry on in the meantime.

You can't get a renewal pack online.

• Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline

How - and when - to renew

You won’t be able to renew until you have received your renewal pack and you know what forms you've been sent.

Once you've got your pack, if you need to renew do so as soon as possible. The final deadline for renewing is usually 31 July but check if your pack shows a different deadline.

You can renew in one of the following ways:

• completing the Annual Declaration (TC603D or TC603D2) and returning it to the Tax Credit Office in the reply envelope provided
• calling the Tax Credit Helpline

You can't renew online.

It's worth knowing that if you are going to renew by phone, the helpline can be busy around the deadline. So it’s best to renew as soon as you can once you get your pack.

If you're renewing by post and have lost your reply envelope, the address to return your form to is:

HM Revenue & Customs Tax Credits
Comben House
Farriers Way
Netherton
L75 1WB

• Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline and Tax Credit Office

• When to renew your tax credits

Information you need when you renew using the Helpline

When you contact the helpline, make sure you have the following paperwork handy:

• your renewal pack
• details of any changes in your circumstances that you haven't already reported
• the amount of your total income (including that of any partner) for the last tax year

• Getting ready to renew your tax credits

• Help with the tax credits renewal pack

• Changes you need to report and when for tax credits

Your payments before you renew

Your payments:

• will carry on from the start of the new tax year (6 April) until you renew your claim, as long as you renew by the deadline - normally 31 July
• may carry on a bit longer if you should have got a renewal pack but it was issued late
• will be temporary (or 'provisional') until you give the Tax Credit Office the information they need

The payments you get until you renew could be based on out of date information. So the sooner you renew, the sooner the Tax Credit Office can make sure you're getting the right money. You may have to repay any overpayment.

What happens if you don't renew

If you've been sent an Annual Declaration (TC603D or TC603D2) and don't renew, the following will happen:

• your payments will stop
• you will have to pay back any overpayment from both the previous tax year and from the start of the new tax year
• you'll get a statement from the Tax Credit Office about your tax credits payments
• you have a further 30 days to provide the information asked for in the renewal pack
• if you don't provide the information within 30 days, you will usually have to make a new tax credits claim

What happens after you renew - or report a change of circumstances

Unless your claim has been automatically renewed, the Tax Credit Office will send you:

• an award notice with a final decision for the last tax year - usually within eight weeks
• a separate award notice showing what your payments will be for the new tax year, including any overpayments or underpayments

The Tax Credit Office may write to you to check that you have renewed correctly and may ask you for evidence, for example, of your income. So keep any relevant paperwork safe.

If you don't get your award notice within eight weeks, contact the Tax Credit Helpline.

• Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline

• Checking your tax credits award notice

• When you can expect your tax credits renewal to be dealt with

More useful links

• How to avoid being paid too much or not enough tax credits

• Tax credits - rights and responsibilities

• Entitlement tables for tax credits - get started

Useful contacts

• Tax Credit Helpline - contact details