UK households planning for the Christmas and New Year 2023 holidays will see their usual payments arrive on different dates. All individuals, couples and families receiving benefits such as universal credit, child benefit and tax credits will be affected by the changes. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will change people's usual payment dates due to bank holidays and weekends falling over the festive period. This may mean you need to plan your budget carefully to predict when the money will hit your account. New dates are adjusted each year to accommodate Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Members of BirminghamLive's Cost of Living team asked about the changes this year and said they wanted to plan their spending for Christmas. We've compiled this guide for all the new dates known so far so you can know when to expect your money. What are the Universal Credit and benefit payment changes? Some benefits will be affected by moving the payment date to Christmas. Universal Credit payments in England and Wales are usually monthly - unless the claimant has an 'alternative payment arrangement', meaning they are paid more regularly - and are linked to the same specific day each month. So if your first Universal Credit payment is on 25 October it will be on the 25th of all subsequent months. Weekends and holidays may require a change to this date as there will be no payments on December 25th as it is Christmas Day and a public holiday. Universal Credit will then usually be paid out on the previous working day. This will mean:

• any payments due on December 23, 24, 25 or 26 should instead be paid on Friday, December 22
• any payments due on December 30, 31 or January 1 should instead be paid on Friday, December 29

Other benefits are often tied to the same day of the week every two or four weeks, instead of the same day. If the day is a holiday, payment is usually made on the previous business day. So, although benefits should be paid sooner, they will need to last longer until your next benefit due date. And there won't be any DWP or HMRC offices or helplines open to call on holidays if there's a problem with a payment, so you'll need to check it's there as soon as possible. The full list of payments that will be affected by the Christmas and New Year holidays includes:

• Attendance Allowance
• Carer's Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Disability Living Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Personal Independence Payment
• State Pension
• Universal Credit
• Tax credits (such as Working Tax Credit)

Government guidance says: "Benefits are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account. If your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday you’ll usually be paid on the working day before. This may be different for tax credits and Child Benefit." All the confirmed payment dates this Christmas for tax credits and Child Benefit are included below.

Christmas 2023 payment dates for tax credits

Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are paid on weekdays by HMRC. According to the GOV.UK website, this is how the dates will change over Christmas and New Year:

• Expected date Monday, December 25 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 22
• Expected date Tuesday, December 26 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 22
• Expected date Wednesday, December 27 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 22
• Expected date Thursday, December 28 - You'll be paid on Wednesday, December 27 (England and Scotland only)
• Expected date Monday, January 1 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 29
• Expected date Tuesday, January 2 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 29
• Expected date Wednesday, January 3 - You'll be paid on Tuesday, January 2 (England and Northern Ireland only)

Christmas 2023 payment dates for Child Benefit

Child Benefit is typically paid on a Monday or Tuesday by HMRC. The GOV.UK website confirms that this is how the payment dates will change this Christmas and New Year:

• Expected date Monday, December 25 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 22
• Expected date Tuesday, December 26 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 22
• Expected date Monday, January 1 - You'll be paid on Friday, December 29