More than one million families claiming tax credits to receive second Cost of Living Payment from 23 November

More than one million claimant families receiving tax credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will get their second Cost of Living Payment from Wednesday 23 November 2022, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.

This £324 government payment will be paid automatically into most eligible tax credit-only customers’ bank accounts between 23 and 30 November 2022 across the United Kingdom.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, said:

“This second Cost of Living Payment will provide further financial support to eligible tax credit-only claimants across the UK.

“The £324 will be paid automatically into bank accounts, so people don't need to do anything to receive this extra help.”

The second payment will see more than 8 million households across the UK receive their £324 cost of living cash boost by 30 November and follows the first cost of living payments of £326, which eligible families received from Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) from July and HMRC from September.

The government recently announced that households receiving DWP benefits will get their second Cost of Living Payment from 8 November continuing through to 23 November. This includes tax credit claimants who also receive other income-related benefits from DWP.

HMRC is making payments shortly after DWP in order to avoid duplicate payments.

This latest payment comes on top of wider government support with the cost of living this autumn and winter, including:

• the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, already paid to around 6 million disabled people
• more than 8 million pensioner households who will receive an extra one-off £300 Winter Fuel Payment this year

This is in addition to an extension to the Household Support Fund, which is providing an extra £421 million for use between October 2022 and March 2023 to help vulnerable people with the essentials. A £150 Council Tax rebate was sent earlier this year to those in Council Tax bands A to D in England, creating at least £1,200 in direct support for millions of households.

A £400 reduction on energy bills is also being given to all domestic electricity customers over the coming months, and the Energy Price Guarantee is protecting households from significant rises in their energy bills this winter.

The government is offering help for households. Customers should check GOV.UK to find out what cost of living support they could be eligible for.

Additional Information:

• Cost of living payments were announced in May 2022. Details of the first DWP and HMRC payments were publicised in June, July and August 2022. In October 2022 the DWP announced details of their second payment.
• The latest payment schedule information, which will be updated on 20 October to show that the second HMRC payments will be made between 23 and 30 November, is available here.
• Tax credit-only customers, who will receive the second payment between 23 and 30 November 2022, must have received a payment or an annual award of at least £26 of tax credits for any day in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022, or later found to be entitled to tax credits 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.
• To be eligible for the second DWP payment, families must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of either:

• Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022
• income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022

• Customers do not need to apply for this payment. If customers are eligible through receiving tax credits only, HMRC will make the Cost of Living Payment automatically into the bank account where claimants already receive their tax credits. Customers might find that their payment is delayed if they have recently closed the bank account their tax credits are usually paid into.
• If customers have not let HMRC know that their bank account has changed, HMRC will pay the money into their old bank account, meaning the payment will be rejected. If this happens, HMRC will follow this up by letter to the customer, letting them know that we need updated bank details.
• If tax credit customers believe they are eligible but have not received a payment between the published payment dates, they should wait until 7 December at the earliest to contact HMRC. This is to allow time for their bank, building society or credit union to process the payment. We won’t be able to provide customers with any further information before this date.
• More than 8 million families on means-tested benefits will receive up to £650 this year, made in two payments. This includes all families entitled to a payment of the following benefits: Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit.
• This payment is tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.
• These payments are being delivered in two slightly different amounts of £326 and £324. The distinct value relates to a specific qualifying period, so it is simpler to determine if a payee received the correct payments, reducing the fraud risk of people who claim not to have had one of the specific two payments, as HMRC and DWP will be able to clearly track those who have.
• Beware of scams targeting cost of living payments. If someone contacts you about cost of living payments saying they are from HMRC, it might be a scam.
• You don’t need to apply for this payment. HMRC will never ask for your bank details by SMS or email. Don’t let yourself be rushed. Check advice on spotting scams by visiting GOV.UK and searching ‘phishing and scams’. You can find phone numbers, and other ways to contact us, on GOV.UK – search ‘Contact HMRC’ and choose ‘tax credits’.

Notes for editors:

1. There will be a specific identifier on bank statements when the second payment from HMRC arrives in customers’ bank accounts. The payment reference will be ‘HMRC COLS’ to refer to Cost of Living Support.
2. Follow HMRC’s Press Office on Twitter @HMRCpressoffice