Archive Website of the UK government

Before you appeal

There are a few steps you can take before appealing.

Call the Tax Credit Helpline

It's always worth trying to reach an agreement with the Tax Credit Office before making a formal appeal. This way, if they agree your award is wrong, they can make sure it's changed for you.

If you want to speak to someone about your tax credit award, call the Tax Credit Helpline.

• Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline

Get independent advice

You can get help and free independent advice from a number of organisations - for example:

• the Citizens Advice Bureau
• your trade union
• Community Legal Advice
• TaxAid

You can also get advice from a solicitor or an accountant, but you'll have to pay for this.

• Contact details for the Citizens Advice Bureau on their website Opens new window

• Contact details for Community Legal Advice

• Visit the TaxAid website Opens new window

How do you know if you can appeal

The decision notice the Tax Credit Office sends you will tell you if you can appeal against the decision.

You can appeal when:

• you think a decision is wrong
• your award doesn't take into account a change of circumstances
• your award is reduced or has stopped
• you don't agree with a penalty notice
• you've been charged interest

When you can't appeal

You can't, for example, appeal against a decision to ask you to pay back an overpayment. But you can appeal if you think the amount of tax credits you were awarded in the first place was wrong.

Other options if you can't appeal

Where you've been asked to pay back an overpayment:

• you have the right to dispute the overpayment if you think that the Tax Credit Office has made a mistake
• you can ask the Tax Credit Office to look again at the repayments they've asked you to make, if you are having difficulty making them

You may want to contact an independent adviser, such as your accountant or Citizens Advice, to discuss your options.

• How to dispute a tax credits overpayment

• Difficulty repaying overpaid tax credits?

Who can appeal

Usually the person who made the claim or who’s been getting the tax credits makes the appeal. If you claim as a couple, only one of you needs to make the appeal.

You can ask someone like an independent adviser to help you by acting on your behalf.

If you're an appointee and claim tax credits for someone else, you can make the appeal for them.

• If you want someone to act on your behalf for tax credits

Deadline for appeals

Normally, you have to appeal within 30 days of when the Tax Credit Office sent you their decision. In special cases they’ll give you more time but you must tell them your reason for making a late appeal.

The Tax Credit Office can’t accept an appeal dated 13 months or more after they sent their decision. If they can't accept your late appeal, they will pass your request to an independent tribunal to decide.

How to appeal

Your appeal needs to be in writing and you can do this in one of the following ways:

• send them a letter
• send a completed form WTC/AP Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit – what to do if you think our decision is wrong

You must say in your appeal what you think is wrong. You must also say which decision you are appealing against.

You will need to send your letter or completed appeal form to:

Tax Credit Office
Preston
PR1 4AT

• Download the tax credits appeals factsheet and form (PDF, 76K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

What happens next?

Step 1

If the Tax Credit Office hasn't already done so, they'll check that the decision is correct and explain it. If you’re happy with the explanation you’ll need to withdraw your appeal.

Step 2

If you don't agree, or you don't think all the points in your appeal have been covered, your case can go to an independent tribunal.

The tribunal will be run by one of the following, depending on where you live:

• for England, Scotland and Wales – the Tribunals Service
• for Northern Ireland – the Appeals Service Northern Ireland

The Tax Credit Office will set out their response to your appeal, explaining the law and the facts they used to make their decision. You or your representative will be sent a copy of their response.

If you want to know what happens after you've sent your appeal to the tribunal you can get more information from the relevant websites. To do this, follow the links below.

• More about the Tribunals Service on the justice website Opens new window

• More about the Appeals Service Northern Ireland on nidirect Opens new window

If your circumstances change

If anything changes that could affect your payments, you must let the Tax Credit Office know straight away. Don't wait for the appeal hearing.

• Tax credits: changes you need to report and when

Withdrawing the appeal

You can withdraw your appeal at any time by:

• calling the Tax Credit Helpline
• writing to the address on the decision notice
• contacting the Appeals or Tribunal Service that is dealing with your appeal, if your appeal has been sent to them

• Contact details for the Tax Credit Helpline

More useful links

• Tax credits - how to complain

• Where to start if things go wrong with tax credits

Useful contacts

• Tax Credit Helpline - contact details