What are tax credits ?

Yes_i_can

and who is eligible?

ButterPie_2

There are two types of Tax Credits - Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Working is for anyone over 25, with kids or with a disability and working over 16 hours a week, Child is for anybody with kids, no matter if they work or not.

It decreases as your income rises (you get none if you earn above a certain amount), and you get more if you have more kids, work more hours, or have childcare costs. Children under one get a premium too.

It is assessed as a household, and is paid weekly or monthly into your bank account.

It is NOT a refund on tax you have paid, a discount on your tax bill or any such thing. It is basically a benefit, and a very useful one at that.

There is plenty of info online and on this website in particular but mostly I would recommend that everyone goes to https://www.entitledto.co.uk and runs the benefits checker.

I have friends who have become £200+ better off a week after doing that checker. It is often the difference that means you can feed your kids and pay the rent.