Thousands receive final cost of living payment straight into bank account

Hundreds of thousands of households will receive a cost of living payment today in the final cost of living payments for many.

Around 700,000 households, who receive tax credits and no other qualifying benefits, will receive a £299 cost of living payment from Friday.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is making the payments to eligible tax credits customers across the UK between February 16 and 22 2024.

Today’s payment will be the third of three in 2023/24 totaling up to £900 (PA Wire)

More than seven million eligible UK households have already received the £299 payment directly from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which is making payments between February 6 and 22.

It is the third of three payments in 2023/24 totaling up to £900 for those eligible and on means-tested benefits, which also include universal credit and pension credit.

If you’re getting tax credits from HMRC and a low income benefit from DWP, you cannot get a Cost of Living Payment from both HMRC and DWP. You will usually be paid by DWP only.

How to report a missing cost of living payment

According to HMRC

You can report here you think you should have had one of the following payments, but you cannot see it in your bank, building society or credit union account:

• £301 paid between 25 April 2023 and 17 May 2023 for most people
• £300 paid between 31 October and 19 November 2023 for most people
• £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment paid between 20 June 2023 and 4 July 2023 for most people

The £299 Cost of Living Payment for a low income benefit will be paid between 6 February and 22 February 2024 for most people. You will be able to report it missing from 23 February 2024.

You’ll need your National Insurance number.

Payments from HMRC will appear on bank statements as “HMRC COLS”, referring to cost of living support. As payments are automatic, there is no need to apply for them.

Those receiving the payment from DWP will see the payment reference as their national insurance number followed by “DWP COL”.

Payments are tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.

Around 700,000 households, who receive tax credits and no other qualifying benefits, will receive a £299 cost of living payment from Friday (PA Archive)

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC director general for customer services, said: “The £299 cost of living payment will deliver further financial support to eligible tax credits customers across the UK. To make things as simple as possible, the payment is made automatically with no action required from HMRC’s customers.”

What other winter benefits are there?

There are three key support schemes available to people as cold weather hits in the winter months:

Cold Weather Payments

A cold snap at the start of the year saw many postcodes qualify for the Cold Weather Payment. If you live in an area that has experienced seven or more days of temperatures at or below zero, you are eligible for £25 for every seven days of cold. In Scotland, this scheme was recently replaced with the Winter Heating Payment.

Warm Home Discount

If you are on a low-income and have high energy costs, you could get a one-off £150 payment to help with your bills. You will also qualify if you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. The discount should be applied to your energy bills between October 2023 and March 2024. The scheme works slightly differently for Scottish applicants.

You should receive a letter in January 2024 if you might be eligible. If you do not, you should contact the DWP before 29 February 2024.

Winter Fuel Payment

You will automatically qualify for this if you are over the state pension age (66 years old) and live in the UK. The discount grants you between £250 and £600 to help pay your heating bills. You do not need to apply if you currently receive a state pension, or most other benefits. If you do not, you may need to apply.

The discount money should have automatically entered your account in October or November.

If people have not received the payment they were expecting from HMRC between the planned payment dates, but believe they are eligible, they should wait until after February 23 to get in touch, HMRC said. This is to allow time for their bank, building society or credit union to process the payment.

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