Thousands of new parents missing out on £1,406 in support – don’t be one of them

New parents are being urged to act quickly and claim financial support worth up to £1,406.60 during their child’s first year.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says thousands of families are still missing out on child benefit payments, despite more than 6.8 million families claiming the support in the year to August 2025. Only 68.8% claimed before their child’s first birthday, meaning many parents are delaying or missing out entirely during a key stage of family life.

What is child benefit?

Child benefit is money paid to help with the cost of raising a child.

You can usually claim if you’re responsible for a child under 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training.

You do not have to be the child’s biological parent. Grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents and older siblings may also be able to claim.

Only one person can claim for each child, but there’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

Who can get child benefit?

You’ll get the full amount if neither you nor your partner earns more than £60,000 a year and:

• the child lives with you
• you contribute at least the weekly child benefit amount towards their care

How much is child benefit?

From April 2026, you can get:

• £26.05 a week for your first or only child
• £17.25 a week for each additional child

Payments are usually made every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday into one bank account.

You may be able to get paid weekly if you’re a single parent or receive certain benefits.

How to claim child benefit

You can claim child benefit online. If this isn’t an option, you can claim by post or by phone.

You can do this as soon as you’ve registered the birth or your child or when a child comes to live with you if, for example, you’re a grandparent or adoptive/foster parent.

Even if you did not claim when your child was born, you can still apply later. However, claims can only be backdated by up to three months.

Why child benefit payments can stop

Your child turns 16

For most families, payments stop on 31 August after your child turns 16 unless they continue in approved education or training.

HMRC will contact you before this happens. If you do not respond, your payments may stop automatically.

Your child leaves education or training

Child benefit can continue until your child turns 20, but only if they stay in approved full-time education or training.

Payments will stop if they leave, switch to a non-approved course or start full-time work.

Your child starts working full-time

Part-time work does not usually affect child benefit if your child remains in approved education or training.

But payments stop if they leave education and work more than 24 hours a week.

You or your partner earns over £60,000

You can still claim child benefit if one of you earns more than £60,000, but you may have to repay some of it through the high income child benefit charge.

You can choose to opt out of receiving payments while still registering for child benefit.

That can still help you qualify for national insurance credits towards your state pension and ensures your child automatically gets a national insurance number at 16.

Your circumstances change

You must tell HMRC if:

• you separate or divorce
• you move in with a new partner
• your child no longer lives with you
• you go abroad for more than eight weeks in a row, unless it’s for medical treatment or military service

How to cancel child benefit

You may want to cancel child benefit if your child is no longer eligible or your household income rises above £60,000 and you want to avoid paying money back later.

You can cancel through your HMRC online account or by calling 0300 200 3100.

Find out what benefits you can claim

If you’re struggling to cover your day-to-day expenses because of the two-child benefit cap, we can check you’re getting everything you’re entitled to.

So get in touch or try our benefits calculator to see what support you could be eligible for.