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How long it can take for your renewal to be processed

It often takes up to eight weeks for the Tax Credit Office to deal with your renewal. This is because they may need to check some of the information you have provided. If they do, they will get in touch with you.

Try to provide any information you're asked for as soon as you can. This will help the Tax Credit Office confirm what tax credits you are entitled to as quickly as possible.

What happens to your payments in the meantime

If you renewed on time, you'll still get the same payments while your renewal is being dealt with.

However your payments may change once the Tax Credit Office works out what you are entitled to after you have renewed.

If you didn't renew on time your payments will stop.

• Renewing your tax credits claim - the basics

How you know when your renewal has been dealt with

Once you have renewed the Tax Credit Office will decide what you are entitled to. They'll write to you and let you know what their decision is. This will usually mean you get an 'award notice'.

You may get a number of award notices after you renew. You need to:

• check each award notice, making sure that the details are correct for the tax year or award period shown
• tell the Tax Credit Office, by ringing the helpline, if anything is wrong, missing or incomplete, or if there's anything you don't understand

You can use the checklist that came with your award notice to help you do this.

• More about checking your tax credits award notice

When you can expect your award notice

You can usually expect your final award notice within eight weeks of renewing or reporting a change of circumstances. This may take longer if, for example, there were some mistakes on the Annual Declaration form (TC603D or TC603D2).

If you only received an Annual Review notice (TC603R) and everything on it was correct, you can treat that as your award notice. Your current payments will continue.

• Help with the tax credits renewal pack

You have a 16-year-old child going on to further education or training

If you have a 16-year-old child and they're going on to further education or training, your Child Tax Credit will continue for them. This is as long as:

• you've told the Tax Credit Office that your child's staying on in education or training
• the education or training counts for Child Tax Credit

You'll get another award notice after 1 September, showing your Child Tax Credit continuing.

If your child's education or training plans change, you must tell the Tax Credit Office straight away.

• Your child reaches 16 - can you still get Child Tax Credit?

When to contact the Tax Credit Helpline

If you renewed by 31 July (or the deadline in your renewal pack), contact the Tax Credit Helpline if one of the following applies:

• you haven't been sent your award notice and it's more than eight weeks after you renewed
• the information on your award notice is wrong, missing or incomplete

If you've realised you made a mistake when you renewed, contact the Tax Credit Helpline straight away.

• Contact the Tax Credit Helpline

• Putting mistakes right once you've sent in your tax credits claim

More useful links

• Reasons why your tax credits might stop

• Changes you need to report and when for tax credits

Useful contacts

• Tax Credit Helpline - contact details