How Long Does It Take To Receive Working Tax Credits?
If you applied for Working Tax Credits and want to know how long it takes to receive your Working Tax Credits payment from the HMRC, you will find guidance in the following blog post. For a detailed perspective of the topic, we will also discuss the amount that you can expect to receive depending on your circumstances as well as take you through the process of setting up an online account to stay updated with your benefits payments status.
How Long Does It Take To Receive Working Tax Credits?
Most new claims for Working Tax Credits take between 5 to 6 weeks to be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account. Once your claim is approved, you will receive your payments every 4 weeks after that. In some cases, you can also request the HMRC to make these payments every 2 weeks instead.
If it has been more than 6 weeks and you have not received your first payment for Working Tax Credits, you can check your payment status online through the Government’s official website. Alternatively, you can call the HMRC’s Tax Credits helpline at 0345 300 3900 from Monday to Friday, between 8 am and 6 pm.
However, Working Tax Credits are being replaced with Universal Credit for non-claimants of Child Tax Credits across the UK. Therefore, if you are intending to apply for a Working Tax Credits claim, you will need to check with the HMRC whether you should apply for WTC payments or Universal Credit instead.
Working Tax Credits are one of the means-tested benefits that provide financial support for households who are on a low income. This means that your claim will first be assessed on the basis of your income to determine whether or not you are eligible to claim the benefit and secondly if you are eligible for Working Tax Credits, how much you can claim with a monthly payment.
If you are still waiting for your Working Tax Credits claim to be approved, you should know that you should be claiming Child Tax Credits to be able to claim Working Tax Credits; otherwise, you will have to apply for Universal Credit.
How Can I Check My Working Tax Credits Payment Status Online?
If you wish to check the payment status against your Working Tax Credits payments online, you should follow the below-listed steps:
- Log in to the Tax Credits service online using your National Insurance number, Government Gateway user ID and password. If you don’t have a user ID and password, you can create one when you land on the sign-up page.
- You will also need to prove your identity. For this, you can use any two relevant documents such as your Tax Credit claim details, P60 form, three recent payslips, UK passport or driving licence details, credit file details or the information from your Self Assessment tax return.
- Once your sign in, your Personal Tax Account will also be activated. This can be used to check your HMRC records.
Alternatively, you can use the free HMRC app to check the amount that you will be paid against your Tax Credits claim and the expected date(s) of payment.
How Much Can You Claim With Working Tax Credits?
The amount you can claim with Working Tax Credits depends on two factors; namely your income and your circumstances. The basic amount that you can get once your claim is approved is £2,070. Below are details of other elements that you may be able to claim depending on your circumstances:
- couple element of £2,125
- lone parent element of £2,125
- child care element of 70% of the eligible cost
- 30-hour element of £860
- disabled worker element of £3,345
- severe disability element of £1,445
Conclusion:
The above discussion helps to conclude that in the case of a fresh claim for Working Tax Credits, your first payment can take between 5 to 6 weeks to be received. After this, you will be paid on a monthly basis
References:
How to claim working and child tax credits – Citizens Advice