How to claim child benefit

You can apply for child benefit if you’re responsible for raising a child aged under 16.

You can also claim if the child you’re bringing up is under 20 and in approved education or training, such as A-levels or certain apprenticeships.

Only one person can claim child benefit for each child, so the money will go into account, rather than be split between you and your partner.

So if the two of you are both responsible for bringing up a child, you need to choose who will make the claim.

You don’t have to be the child’s biological parent to claim child benefit.

You could be, for example, their grandparent, adoptive parent, foster parent or older sibling and be the child’s primary carer.

In that case, you may still be entitled to state support to help you cover your costs.

You can claim child benefit:

• online
• by post
• by phone

You can apply as soon as you’ve registered your child’s birth or when a child comes to live with you.

It depends how you apply.

If you apply online or via the HMRC app, you may get your first payment in three working days.

But if you’ve applied by post, it can take up to three months.

Don’t worry if there’s a delay. 

If you were eligible before your claim was processed, your payments will be backdated up to three months, so you won’t miss out.

You’ll get £26.05 a week for your first (or only) child.

For each additional child, you’ll get £17.25 a week.

That’s still the case even if you have twins born a few minutes apart.

Child benefit is usually paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

But you can ask for weekly payments if you’re a single parent or if you or your partner are getting either: 

• universal credit
• pension credit
• income support
• income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• income-based employment and support allowance

There’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

And unless you or your partner are earning more than £60,000 a year, child benefit payments are tax-free.

If you or your partner have an income of over £60,000 a year, you can still claim child benefit.

But you may have to pay some of it back.

For every £100 you receive above £60,000, you’ll have to pay back 1% of the full amount of child benefit you’re entitled to.

And if you’re earning £70,000 a year or above, you have to pay back the full amount.

You should bear in mind that the calculation of your income isn’t just based on your salary.

It’ll reflect all your taxable income, such as rental income and your profits if you’re self-employed.

Yes.

Claiming child benefit can help you get national insurance (NI) credits.

You usually need at least 35 years of NI credits to get the full state pension.

So if you’re in a couple and one of you is earning less than £123 a week, this could be really valuable in the long run.

Receiving child benefit also makes sure that your child automatically gets a national insurance number when they turn 16.

And if you’re caring for a child whose parents have died, it could unlock other support such as guardian’s allowance.

So even if you or your partner have an adjusted net income - your total taxable income before any allowances - of over £60,000, it’s still worth claiming child benefit and simply opting out of getting paid.

If your child is under 16 (or 20 if they’re in qualifying full-time education), then you can still apply for child benefit.

But remember that a claim can only be backdated for up to three months.

Yes.

If your application has been turned down and you’re not happy with the decision, you can ask HM Revenue & Customs to look at it again.

This is called a mandatory reconsideration.

If you’re still unhappy with the decision, you can appeal to an independent tribunal.

But you have to act quickly, as you only have one month to challenge a decision.

Your payments may stop if your child:

• starts paid work for 24 hours or more a week
• leaves education or training
• starts receiving benefits in their own name