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UK families get second chance on tax credits thanks to strike action

1st August 2014 Print

UK families who have yet to renew their tax credits should make the most of the deadline extension HMRC has given them after the Public and Commercial Services Union announced strike action, says ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

HMRC has said that due to PCS member industrial action plans for 30-31 July, the tax credits deadline for families will be pushed back from 31 July to 10pm on Wednesday 6 August to counter the expected disruption caused by the planned strikes.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, ACCA’s head of taxation, said: “The union may have inadvertently done many families up and down the UK a favour. Those who have yet to renew their tax credits need to get a move on. Although they have been given a rare lifeline by HMRC, it isn’t that long an extension.

“For many of the families who use tax credits, finances will be tight, so it is vital they do not miss this extended deadline. The taxman needs to know of any change in circumstances. Many households cannot really afford to get it wrong.”

HMRC has contacted ACCA this week to inform the global accountancy body that it has deployed as many of its staff as possible to answer phone queries on tax renewals. HMRC is, however, warning of lengthy delays due to strike action and is urging people to complete renewals online at gov.uk/renewtaxcredits, by paper or by using our new Intelligent Telephony Automation (ITA) service, which uses speech recognition technology to capture customers' renewals. Customers can access ITA by ringing the tax credits helpline number - 0345 300 3900 - and saying 'Renewals' when prompted.