I can't afford it!

If you have been asked to pay the money back straight away or if you have made a repayment plan that you can no longer afford...

Contact HMRC immediately. If you cannot meet your essential living expenses like food, gas, electricity, water, and rent, you can ask HMRC to:

• Stop taking the money from you for the moment (if they do this they will reconsider this every few months). They are more likely to do this if they think your circumstances may improve.

• Accept smaller payments over a longer period of time. HMRC may ask you some details about your income and expenditure. If you think they are asking you to pay too much, get help from an adviser (see How to find an adviser). They can speak to HMRC for you.

• Write off the overpayment. This means that HMRC will decide that you never have to pay the money back.They will only consider this if you are getting certain state benefits and there is no chance that your income will improve in the future. In some cases they will stop asking you for the money for 12 months and then look again at your case at the end of 12 months. If your circumstances still haven’t improved they may write it off. You may want to get help from an adviser (see How to find an adviser).

December 2010