Around 840,000 people seeking HMRC Tax Credits will begin receiving the £300 cost of living payment today.
Households claiming only HMRC Tax Credits will see the money arrive in their bank accounts between November 10 and November 19.
The funds have already begun to be distributed to persons receiving certain Department of Work and Pension (DWP) benefits, with payments beginning on October 31.
Around eight million people in total will receive the cost of living cash. To get the £300, you need to be claiming one of the following benefits during the qualifying period:
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Tax Credits (Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit)
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
You must have been eligible for a payment between August 18 and September 17, or for an assessment period finishing between these dates.
If you start claiming benefits and they are backdated to the timeframes specified above, you may later be eligible for the £300 payout.
However, the DWP has stated that anyone who receive a Universal Credit “nil award” – that is, £0 – during the qualifying period will not be eligible for the free cash. It will be automatically distributed to all eligible individuals.
Your National Insurance Number will be followed by “DWP COL” or “HMRC COLSD” as the payment reference. This is the second of three instalments of cost of living assistance for persons on means-tested benefits, totaling £900.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, said: “I know Christmas can be a difficult time, which is why this £300 payment will come as a welcome boost for hundreds of thousands of families. But the best help we can give is halving inflation this year.”