What if I don’t agree with the tax credit overpayment?
If you don’t agree with the overpayment you can ask HMRC to review it. To do this you need to contact HMRC on 0345 300 3900 or complete and return a tax credit overpayments form TC846.
You normally have three months to do this. HMRC can also continue to reclaim tax credit overpayments while they review your dispute.
How long do I have to pay a tax credit debt?
If you’ve been asked to pay back a tax credit overpayment and you can’t afford to do this within 30 days, you should let DWP Debt Management know when they contact you, or call HMRC on 0345 302 1429.
If you’ve been asked to pay HMRC directly, the time they’ll usually allow you to pay back the overpayment is either:
- 12 months – they’ll usually allow you to pay in twelve monthly instalments without giving them any further information.
- Up to 10 years – they’ll usually agree to this without asking for any further information, as long as you can pay more than £10 a month. If the amount you can afford is less than £10 per month, they may still agree to this if you can afford to pay the debt off in less than three years
- Over 10 years – you’ll need to provide a budget and pay more than £10 a month. If it’ll take you a very long time to repay the debt, HMRC may consider writing off the debt after 10 years. We can help you put together a budget which shows your current financial situation
If you can’t afford £10 a month and it’ll take longer than three years to pay off the debt, HMRC may agree to put the debt on hold for 12 months. If your situation is the same a year later and you still can’t afford £10 a month, they may agree to write off the debt.