HMRC confirms date one million families on tax credits will get £301 cost of living payment

Families who receive tax credits and no other means-tested benefits will get the payment from HMRC
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HMRC has confirmed when one million families across the UK will receive a £301 cost of living payment.

It is the first instalment of three payments totalling up to £900 from the government to help with the cost of rising bills.

Only those who are receiving tax credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will receive the payment from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

HMRC has confirmed when one million families will receive a £301 cost of living payment (Composite: Kim Mogg / Adobe)HMRC has confirmed when one million families will receive a £301 cost of living payment (Composite: Kim Mogg / Adobe)
HMRC has confirmed when one million families will receive a £301 cost of living payment (Composite: Kim Mogg / Adobe)

The £301 payment will be paid automatically into most eligible customers’ bank accounts between Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 May 2023 across the UK. A further two instalments - of £300 and £299 - will be paid at a later date in autumn 2023 and spring 2024 to those who are entitled.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said: “Higher prices make life difficult for everyone, which is why our priority is to halve inflation this year. But we are also going further to support those struggling most, with a total package of support worth an average of £3,300 per household this year and next – including up to £900 in direct cash payments starting next month for families receiving tax credits.”

HMRC said it will pay eligible tax credit recipients automatically so no action is required to claim the payment, and the payment will show as ‘HMRC COLS’ in customers’ bank and building society accounts.

Customers might find that their payment is delayed if they have recently closed the bank account their tax credits are usually paid into. If claimants have not let HMRC know their bank account has changed, the money will be paid into their old bank account, meaning the payment will be rejected. If this happens, HMRC said it will follow this up by sending a letter to the customer informing them their bank details need updating.

For tax credit-only customers to be eligible for the £301, they must have received a payment of tax credits in respect of any day in the period 26 January to 25 February 2023, or later be found to have been entitled to a payment for this period.

For joint claimants - where one claimant receives Working Tax Credit and the other claimant receives Child Tax Credit - payments will be made into the same bank account as the Child Tax Credit.

If tax credit customers believe they are eligible but have not received a payment between the payment dates, they should wait until 16 May 2023 at the earliest to contact HMRC to allow time for their bank, building society or credit union to process the payment.

What about those on means-tested benefits?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced that eight million households receiving DWP means-tested benefits will also receive a £301 payment this spring. This includes people who receive at least one of the following benefits:

  • Universal Credit
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Pension Credit

The support will be paid to means-tested benefits claimants between Tuesday 25 April and Wednesday 17 May. This includes tax credit claimants who also receive other income-related benefits from DWP.

The payments are part of a package of wider government support which includes:

  • a further £300 cost of living payment for eligible families in autumn 2023, with a payment of £299 in spring 2024
  • a £150 disability cost of living payment for eligible disabled people to be paid during summer 2023
  • a £300 pensioner cost of living payment to be paid during winter 2023-24.

The government said the most vulnerable people can receive up to £1,350 in direct payments over the coming financial year if eligible. Including both DWP and HMRC payments, the latest cost of living payment will see more than eight million households across the UK receive their £301 cash boost by mid-May 2023.

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