Some Brits might qualify for an additional payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with their ‘qualifying week’ usually falling in the first week of December. This period, generally from Monday, December 1, to Sunday, December 7, largely determines your eligibility for the money, based on the benefits you receive and your financial circumstances.

The tax-free ‘Christmas Bonus’ is an additional £10 often deposited into bank accounts before December 25, providing Brits with extra holiday funds. Most eligible people receive this bonus automatically, but you can verify your eligibility for this one-time payment below.

As of this year, anyone claiming 24 benefits in the qualifying week is likely eligible for the Christmas Bonus. Claimants must also be present or ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Gibraltar during this time.

According to the DWP, the 24 benefits included in this are:

1. Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
2. War Widow’s Pension
3. Carer’s Allowance
4. Child Disability Payment
5. Widowed Mother’s Allowance
6. War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
7. Adult Disability Payment
8. Disability Living Allowance
9. Armed Forces Independence Payment
10. Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
11. Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
12. Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
13. Carer Support Payment
14. Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
15. Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
16. Pension Credit – the guarantee element
17. Pension Age Disability Payment
18. Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
19. Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
20. Widow’s Pension
21. State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
22. Attendance Allowance
23. Mobility Supplement
24. Widowed Parent’s Allowance

Official guidance from the DWP summarises: “The Christmas Bonus is a one-off tax-free £10 payment made before Christmas, paid to people who get certain benefits in the qualifying week. This is normally the first full week of December. You do not need to claim – you should get paid automatically.”

The DWP states that if you are in a married couple, civil partnership, or living with a partner and both receive a qualifying benefit, each of you will receive a Christmas Bonus. However, even if your partner or civil partner does not qualify for benefits, they could still be eligible for a Christmas Bonus.

This applies only if both of the following criteria are met:

• You are both over State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week
• Your partner or civil partner was also present (or ‘ordinarily resident’) in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland during the qualifying week

One of the following must also apply:

• You are entitled to an increase in a qualifying benefit for your partner or civil partner
• The only qualifying benefit you’re getting is Pension Credit

The DWP‘s online guidance also adds: “If you have not claimed your State Pension and are not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits you will not get a Christmas Bonus.”

If you’re eligible for the Christmas Bonus, it is typically paid into your bank account before December 25. Usually, it goes into the same account that receives your benefits, pensions, and allowances, and might appear as ‘DWP XB’ on your bank statement.

If you haven’t received your Christmas Bonus by January 1, the DWP advises contacting either the Pension Service or your local Jobcentre Plus office, depending on which agency handles your payments.

For additional details, please visit GOV.UK here.