The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be paying £300 to millions of Brits in seven days' time.

The £300 payment is the second of three cost of living payments and is being paid to over eight million people claiming certain DWP and HMRC benefits.

The first payment of £301 was paid back in the spring and the third payment of £299 will be paid next year. All of the payments are tax-free and do not count towards the benefit cap. They also will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.

The money will start being paid to those claiming eligible DWP benefits next week on Tuesday, October 31. Not everyone will be paid on this date, as the DWP will be making payments over the course of three and a half weeks until Sunday, November 19.

People claiming HMRC Tac Credits will start to be paid between November 10 and November 19.

There is no set way the payments will be given out - such as by area, or by benefit - so if you are eligible, you should receive the money at random over these dates. Depending on who you are banking with, you may be notified

The money will be sent to all eligible people automatically - meaning no one needs to apply for it.

Who will get the £300 cost of living payment?

In order to be eligible for the cost of living payment, you need to be claiming one of the following benefits during the qualifying period:

  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Working Tax Credit

For this payment, you need to have been entitled to the benefit between August 18 and September 17, or entitled to a payment for an assessment period ending between these dates - this is the same for both DWP and HMRC benefit claimants.

You may also later become eligible if you're awarded a benefit and it is backdated to this timeframe.

How will I know when I've been paid the cost of living payment?

The cash will be paid into the bank account where you normally receive your benefits. So you can identify the payment in your bank account, there is a specific code that is used for them. You should look out for this code on your bank statements across the payment window to make sure you have the money.

The payment reference will be your National Insurance Number followed by "DWP COL" or "HMRC COLSD".

Your National Insurance number is nine digits long and starts with two letters, followed by six numbers and one letter. So for example, if your National Insurance number is "AB123456C" then the code with your cost of living payment will be "DWP COL AB123456C" or "HMRC COLSD AB123456C".

What should I do if I don't get the cost of living payment?

If you haven't received the money, you can report it to the DWP as missing. However, before this you should double check that you haven't got it. Remember, the money is paid separately from your normal benefits so you will not receive it as part of that payment.

With the final payment date being a Sunday, it's likely to have appeared in accounts by the deadline. However, if you haven't received your cost of living payment by midnight on November 19 and you are not waiting for confirmation on your entitlement, then you can contact the DWP.

You can report your payment as missing by filling out a form on the Government's website here. The DWP has previously said you should not report your missing payment before the deadline and you shouldn't report it more than once.