Tax credits: appeals and complaints

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Dispute a tax credits overpayment

You can be overpaid tax credits even if you told HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about a change of circumstances on time. You’ll normally have to repay these.

Disputes are usually only successful if HMRC made a mistake.

Fewer than 1 in 10 tax credit disputes are successful.

How to dispute

Tell HMRC online or by post.

You can do this even if you’re no longer getting tax credits.

HMRC will continue to reclaim overpayments while they review your dispute.

Deadlines

Send your dispute form within 3 months of either:

  • the date on the first letter, statement or notice you received telling you that you’ve been overpaid
  • the ‘decision date’ on your Annual Review notice

You can only send it after the deadline in exceptional circumstances, for example you were in hospital for the 3 months.

If you’ve requested a ‘mandatory reconsideration’, you need to send your dispute form within 3 months of getting a reconsideration decision.

What happens next

You’ll get a dispute decision letter telling you:

  • if you have to repay the tax credits
  • how much you have to repay
  • the reasons for the decision

If you do not agree with the decision

You can:

  • send HMRC new information
  • ask them to review the information you sent

You need to do this within 30 days of getting your dispute decision letter unless there are exceptional circumstances, for example you were in hospital.

You can only ask for the decision to be reviewed once.

HMRC will continue to reclaim overpayments while they review your information.

You can contact an organisation like Citizens Advice if you have not got any new information and you’re still unhappy.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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