•If you are paid more benefit than you are entitled to, this is called an overpayment.

•If you are overpaid universal credit (UC), new-style jobseeker’s allowance or new-style employment and support allowance, you can always be required to repay it, regardless of how it was caused.

•All overpayments of housing benefit are recoverable, except those caused by ‘official error’ which you could not have reasonably known were overpayments.

•For other benefits, including the legacy benefits that have now been replaced by UC, the general rule is that you can be required to repay the overpayment if it arose because you did not disclose something or you misrepresented something, regardless of whether this was your fault.

•Overpayments of tax credits that occurred before the ending of the tax credit scheme in April 2025 are always recoverable, however caused.

•The DWP, HMRC and local authorities have the discretion not to recover an overpayment.