Can I get child tax credits?

Child tax credit was designed to help parents on low incomes with the cost of bringing up children.

But you can no longer make a new claim for this particular benefit.

Instead, it has been replaced by universal credit if you’re under state pension age.

If you and your partner (if you have one) are both over state pension age, you might be able to claim pension credit.

Universal credit is a benefit that helps you cover day-to-day expenses.

It’s paid monthly and can include extra money for children and childcare.

You might be able to get universal credit if: 

• you live in the UK
• you’re 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 or 17)
• you or your partner are under state pension age
• you’re out of work or on a low income
• you and your partner have less than £16,000 in savings and investments

If you’re responsible for bringing up a child, you can claim the child element of universal credit for all children born before 6 April 2017.

But you can only claim for the first two if your children were born on or after 6 April 2017, unless: 

• you had a multiple birth
• if you've adopted
• if a child would otherwise go into care

If you qualify for universal credit and are worried about the cost of childcare, you may be able to claim back up to 85% of eligible expenses, such as:

• nursery fees
• childminders
• breakfast clubs
• after-school care
• holiday clubs

For the 2025/26 tax year, you can claim up to:

• £1,031.88 a month for one child
• £1,768.94 a month for two or more children

But to qualify for the childcare cost element of universal credit, you must either be in paid work or have a job offer that starts before your next assessment period ends.

And if you’re in a couple, your partner must typically be in paid employment, but there are exceptions if: 

• they can’t provide childcare because of a limited capability for work
• they’re caring for a severely disabled person

Universal credit has different rules to tax credits when it comes to savings.

In general, you can’t claim universal credit if you have £16,000 or more.

And if you have between £6,000 or £16,000, your universal credit payments will be reduced by £4.35 for every £250 you have in savings.

By savings, we mean: 

• cash
• money in your bank account
• stocks and shares
• savings accounts
• property (other than your main home)
• investments
• savings held for children in your name
• money held in your name for someone else

If you’re switching from tax credits to universal credit after getting a migration notice from the Department for Work and Pensions, you may be covered by something called transitional protection.

This means that your savings over £16,000 won’t affect your Universal Credit claim for the first 12 months, so you have time to adjust and keep getting support.

But after 12 months, your savings will be taken into account under the usual universal credit rules, so it’s important to plan ahead.

If you and your partner are both over state pension age, you might qualify for pension credit.

This is a benefit for people on low incomes who have reached state pension age.

There are two parts to pension credit.

Firstly, guarantee credit tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum amount.

Secondly, savings credit is a top-up for people who have put aside money for retirement by saving or with a work or private pension.

You might get one or both parts.

If only one of you is over state pension age, you’ll need to apply for universal credit.

If you’ve been claiming child tax credit, you’ll get a letter from HM Revenue & Customs called an annual review.

This will tell you how much you’ve been paid up to 5 April 2025.

It’s also when your tax credits award ends, so you won’t get any further payments after this unless you’re moving to universal credit.

Make sure that the information it contains is correct.

If everything is right, you don’t need to do anything.

But if something’s wrong, get in touch with HMRC straight away.

Make sure you do this before the deadline shown in your letter.

Otherwise, HMRC will use their own records to finalise your tax credits.

And that could lead to you either being overpaid or not getting the full amount you’re entitled to.

Make sure you give the right information to HMRC, as you could be fined up to £3,000 otherwise.