MORE than one million tax credit customers completed their renewal using the new online tools ahead of the July 31 deadline for the first time, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed.

Proving increasingly popular with its handy tips and helpful advice, the department’s online services handled 43 per cent of all renewals by supporting 170,000 customers through the process via webchat, and saw more than 35,000 customers choose to submit their return through the new tax credit renewals app.

The services are so intuitive they even helped bring down demand on the telephone lines by around 20 per cent in the run up to deadline day, with only 180,000 renewal-related calls received in the last week of July, compared to 222,000 the previous year.

A new trial SMS service, messaging customers to reassure them their renewal had been received and was being progressed, also proved to be a success, with 85 per cent of recipients saying it gave them reassurance their renewal was being handled and stopped them calling the helplines.

Anyone who has not renewed will have their payments stopped and may have to pay back any payments they’ve received since April.

They must contact HMRC immediately – either online at GOV.UK or over the telephone by calling 0345 300 3900.