HMRC to pay almost one million UK households £299 cost of living cash from today

HMRC and DWP are currently paying those eligible the third and final cost of living payment

Around 700,000 households who receive Tax Credits from HMRC will receive their £299 cost of living payment from today.

Households that claim HMRC Tax Credits only will see the cash arrive in their bank accounts between February 16 and February 22. The third and final cost of living payment has already started to be sent to those claiming certain Department for Work and Pension (DWP) benefits, with payments for these people having kicked off on February 6.

The tax office says almost seven million households have received their £299 payment from the DWP so far. Around eight million people will receive the payment overall by the February 22 deadline. The payment from HMRC will appear on bank statements as “HMRC COLS” whilst those receiving the payment from DWP will see the payment reference as their National Insurance number followed by “DWP COL”.

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.”

To get the £299, you need to be claiming one of the following benefits during the qualifying period which was between November 13 and December 12 last year:

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

HMRC reiterates that the payment is tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards. Alongside this, the payment from HMRC is made automatically into the bank account where you receive your Tax Credits. You do not need to do anything to receive a payment and you do not need to contact HMRC or apply for it.

If someone contacts them about this payment saying they are from HMRC or DWP, it might be a scam. People can check advice on spotting scams by visiting GOV.UK and searching “HMRC phishing and scams”. They can also check on GOV.UK that any contact is genuinely from HMRC.

If you have not received the cost of living payment from HMRC between the published payment dates, but believe you are eligible, you should wait until after February 23 to contact HMRC – this is to allow time for their bank, building society or credit union to process the payment.