Tax Credits

You may be entitled to tax credits if you work or if you have dependent children.

Tax credits are payments made by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). There are two types of tax credit:

1. Working Tax Credit is a means-tested payment for working people on a low income.
2. Child Tax Credit is a means-tested payment for people with dependent children, whether in or out of work.

The amount paid depends on your income and other circumstances. If you are married or living with a partner of the opposite sex, your partner's income will be taken into account.

Working Tax Credit

Who can claim Working Tax Credit?

Anyone can claim Working Tax Credit, including blind and partially sighted people, but you must have a fairly low income. You may be employed or self-employed.

• If you have a disability or children: you must be at least 16 years old, and work at least 16 hours per week.
• Workers who don't have a disability or children: must normally be at least 25 years old and working at least 30 hours per week to qualify.
• If you are aged 60 or over: you must work at least 16 hours a week.

To get Working Tax Credit, you must have a fairly low income. The amount of income you can have depends on your individual circumstances. HMRC do not count certain types of income when they calculate your entitlement to tax credits; for example, they do not count Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

The calculations for Working Tax Credit can be quite complex, so give our Helpline a call on 0303 123 9999 to see if you are eligible for them and to see how much you could receive. You can also phone the HMRC Tax Credit Helpline on 0345 300 3900 or complete the Tax credits calculator on the GOV.UK website.

Child Tax Credit

You can get Child Tax Credit for each child you are responsible for that is:

• under 16
• or under 20 and in approved education or training.

It doesn't matter whether or not anyone in your family is working.

Applying for Tax Credits

There is one application pack to cover both Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Call the HMRC Tax Credit Helpline on 0345 300 3900 to receive your application pack. HMRC can backdate applications for up to three months.

How much are Tax Credits worth?

The amount paid depends on your income and other circumstances. Please note that Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are counted as income for both Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

To work out the maximum amount of tax credits that you can get, different elements are added together according to your circumstances.

You receive the maximum award if your gross income is below the threshold. The threshold is £6,420 per year, if you are entitled to Working Tax Credit; and £15,910 a year if you are only entitled to Child Tax Credit. If your income is above the threshold, you will get a reduced amount of tax credits.

Extra money for disabled people

You may be able to get extra money included in your tax credits if you, or your partner or child, has a serious sight problem or other disability.

1. You can have a disability element included in your Working Tax Credit if you (or your partner) are a disabled worker. The person working must:
   • have a disability that reduces their work prospects
   • and get a qualifying benefit, such as Disability Living Allowance, or have recently been getting a qualifying benefit, for instance Incapacity Benefit
   • or become sick or disabled while in work and be eligible under the fast track route.
2. You can have a severe disability element included in your Working Tax Credit, if you or your partner get the highest rate of DLA care component or higher rate Attendance Allowance.
3. You can have a disabled child element included in your Child Tax Credit for each child who gets DLA (any rate) or is registered blind.
4. You can have a severely disabled child element included in your Child Tax Credit for each child who gets the highest rate of DLA care component.

Changes of circumstance

The following changes must be notified to HMRC. This must be done within one month of the date the change occurred or, if later, from the date you realised there had been a change.

• Changes in the adults heading your household, for example if you and your partner break up, or you begin living with a partner
• You or your partner no longer work the required 16 or 30 hours a week
• You are a couple with children and your combined working hours fall below 30 hours a week
• You, or your partner, stop working for more than 10 days
• Your Working Tax Credit contains a child care element and you stop paying for childcare for at least four weeks in a row; or your average weekly child care costs goes down by at least £10 a week, for at least four weeks in a row
• There is a change to the circumstances of a child or qualifying young person in your household - please seek further advice.

NB this list is not comprehensive so contact RNIB Helpline or HMRC if you need further advice. There is a risk of overpayment of tax credit if you do not tell HMRC about these changes.

This information gives general guidance only and is not an authoritative statement of the law.

Further information

For further information contact HMRC on 0345 300 3900 or call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999. You can also email helpline@rnib.org.uk.

Please note that RNIB can only give advice about benefits for people with sight loss and their carers or dependants.

If you use a language other than English please let us know which language. We will try to arrange a telephone interpreting service.