Child Benefit
1. Overview
You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for a child under 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training).
Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child.
You must report any change of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office.
You may have to pay a tax charge if you have an individual income over £50,000 and you or your partner get Child Benefit.
You can choose not to get Child Benefit payments, but you should still register for Child Benefit to help you get National Insurance credits - these count towards your State Pension.
2. What you'll get
There are 2 Child Benefit rates.
| Who the allowance is for | Rate (weekly) |
|---|---|
| Eldest or only child | £20.50 |
| Additional children | £13.55 per child |
You must contact the Child Benefit Office if you’re paid too much or too little.
You could get Guardian's Allowance if you're bringing up someone else's child because the child's parents have died. It's paid on top of Child Benefit.
If families split or join together
If a family splits up, you get £20.50 a week for the eldest child you qualify for.
Example
If you have 2 children and 1 of them stays with you, you’ll get £20.50 a week for them. If your ex-partner claims for the other child, they’ll get £20.50 a week for that child.
If you both claim for the same child, only 1 of you will get Child Benefit for them.
If 2 families join together, the eldest child in the new family qualifies for the £20.50 rate. If you’re entitled to Child Benefit for any other children, you’ll get the £13.55 rate for each of them.
How and when Child Benefit is paid
Child Benefit is usually paid every 4 weeks into your bank account on a Monday or Tuesday. It can be paid weekly if you’re a single parent or getting certain other benefits, eg Income Support.
The claim form notes explain whose name can be on the account.
Money can’t be paid into:
- Child Trust Fund accounts
- children’s accounts
- business and building society accounts that use a passbook
- National Savings and Investments (NS&I) accounts (apart from NS&I Investment Accounts and Direct Saver Accounts)
- some mortgage accounts
- a Nationwide account in someone else's name
ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) have limits on the amount of money that can be paid into them. It's recommended you don't use these for Child Benefit.
Incomes over £50,000
You may have to pay a tax charge if you or your partner's individual income is over £50,000. This is known as the 'High Income Child Benefit Charge'.
Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to estimate how much tax you may have to pay.
The benefit cap
The benefit cap limits the amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. Some individual benefits aren’t affected, but it may affect the total amount of benefit you get.
Child Benefit and your State Pension
If your child is under 12 and you’re not working or don’t earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions, Child Benefit can help you qualify for National Insurance credits.
These credits count towards your State Pension. They protect it by making sure you don’t have gaps in your National Insurance record.
3. Eligibility
Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child.
You normally qualify for Child Benefit if you’re responsible for a child under 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training) and you live in the UK.
You’ll usually be responsible for a child if you live with them or you’re paying towards looking after them.
Child Benefit continues for 20 weeks if 16 or 17 year olds leave education or training and register with the armed services or a government sponsored careers service.
Eligibility rules are different if your child:
Adoptions and fostering
Apply for Child Benefit as soon as any child you’re adopting comes to live with you - you don’t have to wait until the adoption process is complete.
The nationality of the child doesn’t affect whether you’re entitled to Child Benefit or not.
You might be able to get Child Benefit for a period before the adoption - contact the Child Benefit Office to find out.
If you foster a child, you’ll get Child Benefit if the local council isn’t paying anything towards the child’s accommodation or maintenance.
Looking after someone else’s child
You may be able to get Child Benefit if you’ve got an informal arrangement to look after a friend or relative’s child.
You might not qualify if your local council is paying towards the child’s accommodation or maintenance - contact the Child Benefit Office to find out.
If you want to make a claim, you need to try to agree with the person who is currently getting Child Benefit (eg the parent) that you can make a claim instead - 2 people can’t get Child Benefit for the same child.
You may also be entitled to Guardian’s Allowance if you’re responsible for a child who has lost one or both of their parents. You must live with the child or be paying towards looking after them.
Living abroad
You could get Child Benefit if you’re a national of an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, and work in the UK (or get certain UK benefits, eg State Pension).
Find out more about Child Benefit if you’re living or working abroad on the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website.
New arrivals to the UK
You could get Child Benefit if your main home is now in the UK and you have permission to live in the UK - find out more on the HMRC website.
If your child starts work or gets benefits in their own right
You’ll stop receiving Child Benefit immediately if your child:
- starts paid work for 24 hours a week
- starts getting certain benefits (eg Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance or tax credits) in their own right
Child Benefit tax charge
You’ll still be eligible for Child Benefit even if you choose to stop receiving it because you or your partner has an income over £50,000. Stopping your claim does not affect your entitlement - you can always change your mind and restart your payments.
Contact the Child Benefit Office if you're not sure about your eligibility.
4. How to claim
Child Benefit claim form CH2
Fill in a Child Benefit claim form CH2 and notes and send it to the Child Benefit Office with your child’s original birth or adoption certificate.
Child Benefit Office (GB)
Washington
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE88 1ZD
When to claim
It can take up to 12 weeks to process a new Child Benefit claim (or longer if you’re new to the UK).
Claim Child Benefit as soon as your child is born or comes to live with you.
Child Benefit can be backdated for up to 3 months - make your claim as soon as possible.
If you don’t have the birth or adoption certificate, you should still send in your claim form - send the certificate later on when you’ve got it.
You don’t need the birth or adoption certificate if you’ve claimed Child Benefit before and are making a new claim for the same child.
You can order a new birth or adoption certificate if you've lost the original.
Claiming Child Benefit for someone else
You may be able to manage someone else’s Child Benefit claim.
5. Further information
Change in circumstances
You must report changes to the Child Benefit Office. These include changes to:
- your family life - eg getting married
- your child’s life - eg leaving education
Complaints
You can complain to the Child Benefit Office if you’re unhappy with the way you’ve been treated.
Appeals
You can appeal if you’re not happy with a decision the Child Benefit Office has made.
Help
Contact the Child Benefit Office if you have any questions.