Child and Working Tax Credits error and fraud statistics 2021 to 2022
This report presents the estimate from the tax year 2021 to 2022 Error and Fraud Analytical Programme, which measures error and fraud in the tax credits system.
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For the tax year 2021 to 2022, the central estimate of the rate of error and fraud favouring the claimant is around 4.5%. This equates to around £480 million paid out incorrectly through error and fraud.
We are ceasing the Child and Working Tax Credits error and fraud statistics publication due to the underlying random enquiry programme stopping as tax credits will close in 2024 and the remaining population will move to Universal Credit. We have developed a new projection methodology for tax years 2022 to 2023, 2023 to 2024, and 2024 to 2025. The central estimate of tax credits error and fraud for these years will be published in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts.
This publication has been updated to reflect the final estimate of tax credits error and fraud in tax year 2021 to 2022.
More information on revisions to Official Statistics can be found in the HMRC policy on revisions to official statistics.
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Further details, including data suitability and coverage, are included in the background quality report.
Updates to this page
Published 22 June 2023Last updated 11 April 2024 + show all updates
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This publication has been updated to reflect the final estimate of tax credits error and fraud in tax year 2021 to 2022.
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HMRC identified a minor analytical error in the statistics published on 22 June 2023 affecting the final central estimate (£ million) and upper bound (%) of tax credits error and fraud in tax year 2020 to 2021, as a result of incorrect rounding. We have published a correction to paragraph 3, table 1.1 and table 6 of the commentary, and the Annex B data tables, on 13 July 2023.
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First published.