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Britons to miss out on £3.9 billion in tax credits

· One out of every 10 (9%) of entitled families will fail to claim their child tax credits this year, resulting in £1.5 billion remaining unclaimed

· As much as £2.4 billion of pension credits will remain unclaimed this year

· Unbiased.co.uk urges taxpayers to take action and claim all available tax credits ahead of the 31 July deadline

Failure to claim all available tax credits will cost UK taxpayers over £3.9 billion in 2010/2011, according to research* by unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website.  Even in light of the emergency Budget and its new changes to child benefits paid to families with young children, millions of people are still failing to claim their child tax credits and pension credits, resulting in huge tax overpayments. 

Child tax credits

Unbiased.co.uk’s Tax Action report estimates that one out of every 10 (9%) of entitled families will fail to claim their child tax credits.  With the average yearly amount per family totalling £3,411, this will result in a massive £1.5 billion of tax benefits which is remaining unclaimed.  This is an increase by 1% from last year, when 8% of entitled families failed to claim their child tax credits. 

Pension credits

Unbiased.co.uk’s research also shows that over a quarter of pensioners will fail to claim their pension credits, resulting in a waste of just over £2.4 billion.  With the 31 July deadline for claiming back tax credits approaching, unbiased.co.uk calls for taxpayers to claim this “free money” and not miss out any longer.  With belts still tight in the current climate it has never been more pressing for UK taxpayers to ensure they are not giving more to the taxman than they should be.  

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk commented, “People are missing out on huge quantities of money this year by failing to claim child tax credits or pension credits to which they are entitled.  The system has been set up to help those who need it most and quite simply if you don’t claim your credit, it expires.  We would urge people to get their financial planning in order and review their current situation today to ensure they aren’t missing out on what is rightfully theirs.  Especially in light of the emergency Budget and its changes to child benefits paid to families with young children it has never been more pressing for UK taxpayers to ensure they are not giving more to the taxman than they should be.  A discussion with a local IFA is a great way to start this process, and you can carry out a free and confidential search to find one near you via unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find an IFA’ search.”

ENDS

* TaxAction 2010 report produced for IFA Promotion by RAKM, based on a specially commissioned analysis of HMRC and a range of other official data sources.

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive, unbiased.co.uk: 020 7833 3131

Anna Schirmer/Anna Moulds/Charli Scouller, Lansons Communications: 020 7294 3682

For expert commentary or case studies from over 150 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should visit www.unbiased.co.uk/bluebook.

About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

The unbiased.co.uk portal is a free and confidential UK-wide search matching consumers with local professional advisers: ‘find an IFA’, ‘find a mortgage adviser’, and ‘find a solicitor’, and is currently inviting registrations for its ‘find an accountant’ service.  These searches enable consumers to find professional advisers by postcode, area of specialism, qualification and payment method. In 2009, unbiased.co.uk fulfilled half a million searches for local, professional advice. 

IFA Promotion, the organisation behind unbiased.co.uk, is now in its 21st year, and was set up to promote the benefits of independent financial advice to consumers.  IFAP is sponsored by the following companies:

Registered Office: unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606