HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reminded around 730,000 tax credit customers that will receive their annual renewal notices from Thursday, 02 May.

HMRC has said that the majority of claims are automatically renewed, and customers will know if that is the case if their notice features a 'black stripe'. Customer's whose notice has a 'red stripe' are required to manually renew their claim.

Fewer than 10,000 customers will need to check their information and renew their claim by 31 July, but failure to do so means they risk having their payments stopped.

The quickest and easiest way for customers to renew their tax credits is via GOV.UK or via the free and secure HMRC app, which allows them to track their claim and find out when they can expect payments.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Director General for Customer Services, said:

“Tax credits are valued by many families for their essential contribution to the monthly family budget, so to avoid payments being stopped please respond to HMRC by the 31 July deadline. For more information search ‘manage my tax credits' on GOV.UK.”

Customers must report certain life changes which could affect their claim to HMRC. These include:

• relationship changes, such as moving in with a new partner, getting married or divorced

• children leaving home

• a change in working hours

They can find out more about what changes need to be reported and how to do so online at GOV.UK.

If customers fail to renew by the deadline, they risk their payments being stopped and having to repay any overpayments. The 2024 to 2025 tax credits notices may show predicted payments for the tax year 2025 to 2026 - these are automatically generated and should be disregarded.

Tax credits are ending on 5 April 2025 and are being replaced by Universal Credit. There is information about this at GOV.UK. Customers will receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions, or the Department for Communities if they live in Northern Ireland, explaining what happens next. This letter is called a Migration Notice and customers are urged not to ignore it.

Criminals use deadlines to trick people who might be expecting to hear from HMRC into sharing their banking or other details. If a phone call, text or email is unexpected, don't give out private information or reply, and don't download attachments or click on links. Suspicious contact can be reported on GOV.UK.