Don’t miss deadline to extend child benefit

Parents of 16 to 19-year-olds have been urged to extend their child benefit claim if their child is staying in education or training.

Child benefit automatically stops on 31 August after your child’s 16th birthday,

But you can extend your claim if your teenager is either staying in full-time education or approved training after finishing their GCSEs.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is now encouraging parents to act quickly, as the 31 August deadline is fast approaching.

How do I extend my claim?

If your child is staying in full-time education or approved training, you can extend your claim:

• via the HMRC app
• online on GOV.UK
• by scanning the QR code on your reminder letter, which takes you to GOV.UK

How much is child benefit?

Child benefit is currently worth:

• £26.05 per week for the eldest or only child
• £17.25 a week for each additional child

“Teenagers can be expensive and child benefit is an important source of income for your household,” said Myrtle Lloyd, director general for customer services at HMRC. 

“As soon as you know what your teen is doing in September, don’t miss out.”

So far, more than 509,000 parents of teenagers who are staying in full-time education or approved training have extended their child benefit claim. 

According to HMRC, more than two-thirds (67%) of these people have done it online, which it says is a “record-breaking” number.

What counts as approved education?

Approved education means full-time courses like A-levels, T-levels, Scottish Highers, or NVQs, plus some unpaid training programmes. But university studies or most apprenticeships won’t count.

You can find a full list of approved courses at GOV.UK.