Households urged to make HMRC checks as over 730,000… - inkl
Hundreds of thousands of people are missing out on an average of £855
www.inkl.comHere’s the latest on HMRC and the £900 cost-of-living payments and related cheques, based on recent reporting.
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The UK government has previously issued a £900 cost-of-living payment in installments to eligible means-tested benefit recipients. The latest tranche referenced in early 2024 involved a £299 payment, with many recipients still awaiting later installments or verification of entitlement in some cases. This program ran in waves and has been described as tax-free and not counted toward benefit caps.[1]
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In 2026, several outlets (including The Independent and GB News) reported that HMRC still issues cheques for certain rebates or repayments, and that a significant number of those cheques go uncashed. They noted about 178,000 uncashed cheques totalling roughly £144 million, with an average uncashed amount around £800 per taxpayer. HMRC’s shift toward bank transfers as the default method has been ongoing, but paper cheques remain available on request or in some cases by default during the transition.[2][3][4]
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Coverage also highlighted that uncashed cheques can expire or be replaced upon request, and that the move away from cheques is intended to reduce delays and errors, though the transition has created a temporary gap in payments reaching taxpayers.[3][4][2]
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A BBC piece from May 2026 referenced a case of a Cornwall woman experiencing issues depositing a £900 HMRC cheque due to bank policy changes, illustrating real-world frictions in the ongoing cheque-to-bank-transfer transition.[6]
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Overall guidance appearing in reporting encourages taxpayers to check their HMRC channels for payment status, ensure their banking details are up to date, and be aware that the default is shifting toward direct bank transfers, with cheques remaining available if specifically requested, but with responsibility on the payer to cash them before expiry in some cases.[3][6]
If you want, I can look up the very latest official HMRC statements or summarize the current process for how to check whether you’re due a cheque or a bank transfer and how to cash or convert a cheque. Would you like me to pull the most recent HMRC guidance or a brief compare of cheque vs. bank transfer timelines? Note: I can provide direct citations to the latest sources if you’d like.