In this section:
- What are tax credits?
- Tax credits - do you qualify?
- What counts as a couple for tax credits?
- Children, childcare and tax credits
- Work and tax credits
- Disabled people and tax credits
- Can you claim tax credits if you live outside the UK?
- Going abroad temporarily and claiming tax credits
- New arrivals to the UK and tax credits
- Tax credits information for the over 50s
Going abroad temporarily and claiming tax credits
To claim tax credits you normally have to live in the UK. However, you can still qualify if you leave to go abroad temporarily.
Ordinarily resident in the UK
To qualify for tax credits, you must be 'ordinarily resident' in the UK. This means you normally live in the UK, and have chosen to stay and settle here for the time being. When we decide if you're ordinarily resident in the UK we'll look at:
- where your settled home is
- where your close family live
- how long you've lived in the UK
- why you came to the UK
- if you plan to leave the UK for good in the next two or three years
The UK is made up of:
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
It doesn't include the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
Present in the UK
As well as being ordinarily resident in the UK, you also have to be physically present to qualify for tax credits. However, you can continue to be treated as present in the UK if you leave to go abroad temporarily.
Leaving the UK temporarily
When you go abroad, we'll keep on paying your tax credits for:
- up to 12 weeks if you're abroad to get medical treatment for yourself, your partner or your child
- up to 12 weeks because of the death of your partner, a child or a close relative of either you or your partner
- up to eight weeks if you're out of the country for any other reason
If you're expecting to move away permanently or you're going away for a year or more, let us know before you leave.
If you're out of the UK for more than 8 or 12 weeks your tax credit claim may come to an end depending on the reason for your absence. We won't pay you any more tax credits until you make a new tax credit claim when you come back to the UK.
Joint claims
If you make a tax credit claim as a couple we may stop your joint award if one of you goes abroad for more than 8 or 12 weeks depending on the reason. The partner that stays in the UK needs to make a new single tax credit claim when the 8 or 12 week period comes to an end. If you have children, the partner making the single claim may also be able to get help with childcare costs.
You must tell us about these changes within one month, or you could be paid too much money (an overpayment) which you may have to pay back. We may also charge you a penalty of up to £300.
Example 1
David and Janet are married with two children. Janet's father in Australia dies and she has to go there for 18 weeks to sort out the funeral and other arrangements. Their joint claim can continue for the first 12 weeks that Janet is abroad. But David then has to make a single claim for the final six weeks that Janet's away.
Seafarers and offshore workers
If you're a seafarer or an offshore worker you'll be able to keep on claiming tax credits if you're outside the UK. But each period that you work outside the UK must be eight weeks or less.
We'll treat you as being in the UK as long as you're inside the UK's territorial waters - 12 miles out from the low water mark. If you're working outside this limit you can only be away from home for up to eight weeks at a time before your tax credit award ends.
Example 2
Ahmed works on a fishing boat that's always outside UK waters. He works four weeks on, four weeks off. Because his working periods outside the UK are less than eight weeks, he can keep on claiming tax credits.
Example 3
John and Andrea are married so must make a joint tax credits claim. John works on an oil rig that's based outside UK waters. He works for periods of ten weeks before retuning home. John and Andrea can claim tax credits jointly for the first eight weeks, and then Andrea must make a single claim until John returns home. They must then make a new joint claim for tax credits.
Contact us
You can contact our Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909 (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, seven days a week except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day). If you're abroad you can also contact us on Tel 02890 538 192.
