Child Benefit offers valuable financial support with the costs of raising children, with a minimum of almost £20,000 of support available for a first child where a claim is made from birth. Thanks to new digital services, Child Benefit is now faster and easier to claim online.

Child Benefit is normally paid every four weeks, currently at a rate of £24 per week for the first child, and £15.90 per week for any additional children. Most parents with children under 16 (or under 20 if the child is in approved education or training) are entitled to claim. Parents of adopted children are eligible, as are foster carers as long as they don’t already receive Council-funded accommodation or maintenance payments. Further details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/eligibility.

Aside from the helpful extra money, a further benefit of claiming Child Benefit is that non-working or lower-paid parents can build up entitlements towards State Pension entitlement whilst their children are under 12. It also means the child will automatically be issued with a National Insurance number when they turn 16.

Child Benefit can now be claimed either via the HMRC App or online at https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/how-to-claim. Any claimants without a Government Gateway account will need to set one up. Once a user account is set up, the HMRC App allows easy access to a number of tax services, including claiming Child Benefit. HMRC say new claims made online can be processed and payments received in as little as three working days.

There are some complexities with Child Benefit, meaning it’s important to update HMRC for any changes in circumstances that might affect your claim.  Notifying changes in the claimant or child’s circumstances can be done online, or via the HMRC App.

 

Possible complexities

Child Benefit can only be claimed by one person in respect of each child, and care needs to be taken where one partner in a couple with caring responsibility earns £50,000 or more, as the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) can apply. Anyone claiming the benefit may need to keep an eye on their claims and update HMRC if their personal or household circumstances change.

The HICBC can affect employees where either their own or their partner’s income is more than £50,000, regardless of who actually claims the Child Benefit. It means the higher-earning parent or guardian will need to complete a tax return, and repay some or all of Child Benefit received during the year to HMRC.

By the time the higher-earning partner’s income reaches £60,000, the full amount of Child Benefit received in a tax year must be repaid. Despite this, there can still be benefits in claiming Child Benefit, for instance if the individual who claims it isn’t working and would otherwise miss out on National Insurance credits. It is possible to claim the benefit but opt out of actually receiving the payments, potentially avoiding the need to file a tax return.

As circumstances change, it’s important for employees to update HMRC with any changes which might affect their eligibility or tax position. This might include changes in income level, but also personal situations such as separations and moving in with new partners, which can also affect liability to the HICBC. The ability to inform HMRC of changes in financial and personal circumstances online or via the App is likely to be the easiest and quickest option for many.

 

This article reflects the position at the date of publication (17 July 2023). If you are reading this at a later date you are advised to check that that position has not changed in the time since. 

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