Tax credits migration

The government is changing the way in which Tax Credits are paid. If you are currently in receipt of Tax Credits, you will be moved over to Universal Credit (UC) in a process called 'managed migration'. 

Migration is not automatic; the DWP will send you a migration notice, giving you 3 months from the date of this notice to make a new claim. If you do not claim by the deadline or a DWP agreed extension, you will not be eligible for any transitional protection.

This page has information about the migration process and what to do if you need help.

Changes to the way Tax Credits are paid

More Tax Credit claimants will soon be asked to claim Universal Credit as the Government expands the movement of legacy benefit claimants to the modern benefit system.

If you are currently in receipt of Tax Credits, the following information about ‘Managed Migration’ onto Universal Credits will apply to you. 

Who is affected?

The changes only apply to those who are Tax Credits-only recipients. This means they receive Child or Working tax Credit but don’t also receive Income Support, income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, or income-based Employment Support Allowance.

Regional roll-out 

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has already announced that those claiming tax credits in Avon, Somerset and Gloucester have to migrate to Universal Credit from April 2023.

Tax credits-only claimants in East London and Cheshire were included in this roll-out from May 2023

Following the roll-out in May, the DWP also intends to roll out managed migration to tax credits-only claimants in all other parts of England, Wales, and Scotland. There is no timetable for this, though the DWP says it plans to migrate tax credits-only claimants onto Universal Credits in every DWP region by September 2023.

Transitional protection 

Migration does not mean you will be moved onto Universal Credit automatically; the Department for work and Pensions (DWP) will send you a Migration notice, and you will have 3 month from the date of this notice to make a new claim.

If you make a claim within this 3-month period, there should be no break in your claim, and you will be entitled to transitional protection, which means you will not be worse-off by claiming Universal Credit.

If you do not claim by the deadline, or any DWP agreed extension, you will not be eligible for this transitional protection.

Limitations 

There are limits to how long transitional protection for managed migration claimants will apply for certain categories of claimants.

For example, if you have capital above £16,000 this will be ignored for 12 months. If you still have capital above £16,000 after the 12 months has ended, your Universal Credit award will come to an end under the DWP capital rules.

In addition, transitional protection payments do not get uprated with inflation, so the value of transitional protection will reduce over time.

Issues with transitional protection 

If you experience any issues with transitional protection, you can contact the RCN Welfare Service for further support. See how to book an appointment for more information.

More details of transitional protection can be found on the Turn2us website. See Universal Credit Transitional Protection.