Tax Credits Act 2002 section 21

Decisions subject to official error

Section 21 allows regulations to be made so that HMRC decisions about tax credits can be corrected in the claimant's favour where HMRC has made an official error.

• Regulations may provide for tax credit decisions to be revised where they contain an official error
• The revision must be in favour of the claimant or claimants affected by the decision
• The provision covers a wide range of decision types, including initial decisions, revised decisions, post-enquiry decisions, and decisions made on discovery
• What constitutes an "official error" is to be defined by the regulations themselves