More than 1m people still need to renew tax credits as deadline approaches

More than a million people have yet to renew their tax credits with just days to go before the deadline, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said.

The deadline is on July 31 - and failure to renew before the deadline could result in payments being stopped and people having to repay the money they have received since April.

Last year 320,000 people had their payments stopped or altered because they missed the deadline to tell the taxman about changes to their circumstances. These include changes to working hours, income and childcare costs.

Online help and information on renewing tax credits is available at gov.uk and via HMRC's customer service Twitter feed. People can also use HMRC's app and support is also available on the tax credits helpline.

This year, HMRC has also launched a service via Amazon Alexa to help answer some of the most frequently asked questions about tax credits renewals.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC's director general of customer services, said: "There is a wealth of support available at all times of the day and night from HMRC via gov.uk, the app, or Alexa to help customers get their renewal right.

"I urge customers who have yet to renew their tax credits to do so as soon as possible, to avoid their payments being stopped."