Child Benefit: who can claim, how much and the high income charge

Child Benefit is a regular payment from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for people bringing up children. In the 2026 to 2027 tax year it pays £27.05 a week for an eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child¹. You can claim for any child under 16 who lives in the UK, and until they are 20 if they stay in most types of school, college or training after 16².

Only one person can claim Child Benefit for a child². The payment is not means-tested in the ordinary way, but if you or your partner has an individual income over £60,000, a tax charge called the High Income Child Benefit Charge claws some or all of it back³. Even then, claiming is usually still worth doing, because a claim protects your National Insurance record towards the State Pension and gets your child their National Insurance number automatically³.

What Child Benefit is and who can claim it

Child Benefit is paid to the person responsible for a child, and only one person can claim it for each child². It is normally paid for children under 16 living in the UK, and continues beyond that only while they stay in education or training: it stops automatically on 31 August on or after the child's 16th birthday if they leave education or training². Claiming also brings National Insurance credits for the parent receiving the payment, which count towards their State Pension record³.

The benefit is not strictly means-tested, but the High Income Child Benefit Charge applies above the earnings threshold, so higher income households effectively lose some or all of the value⁶. Child Benefit also matters for other support: broadly, if you are able to claim Child Benefit for a child, that child should be included in your Universal Credit claim⁷.

To claim, you must normally live in the UK as your main home and have the right to reside, and you usually need to have been living in the UK for at least three months⁸. Your child normally needs to live with you, except for short periods such as holidays⁸. If you later move abroad, you may still be able to claim UK Child Benefit from another country, depending on your circumstances⁹. The habitual residence and right to reside tests explain these immigration-related conditions in more detail.

When parents share care, the child may be considered a dependant of both, but Child Benefit itself still goes to one claimant¹⁰. Where the rules give one person priority, that person can give notice in writing, or by telephone at an appropriate office, that they do not wish to have priority, so the other parent can claim instead¹¹. Agreeing who claims matters beyond the payment itself, because the claimant is the one who builds up National Insurance credits.

How much Child Benefit pays: £27.05 a week for the eldest child

The weekly rates rise most Aprils. The rates for recent tax years are:

The 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026 figures come from the Autumn Budget 2024 rates and allowances¹², and the 2026 to 2027 figures from Budget 2025¹. How rates rise each April, and the inflation measure behind it, is explained in how rates rise each April.

Two things decide how much a household receives. The eldest or only child attracts the higher rate, and every other child the lower rate, so a family with three children receives £27.05 plus two lots of £17.90 in 2026 to 2027¹. And only one person can claim for each child, so the rates cannot be doubled up between households or between parents².

A child who claims in their own right, because they are 16 or 17 and no longer in education, is paid at the lower 2025 to 2026 rates of £26.05 for their eldest or only child and £17.25 for each additional child¹³. The Child Benefit Office can only pay into one account, which can be a joint account the claimant shares with the child¹³.

How to claim, and why claiming early matters

A claim can be made online as soon as 48 hours after the child's birth has been registered⁴. Backdating is limited: a claim can be made up to three months before meeting all the qualifying conditions, so payment for months earlier than that is not made². A claim can also be made without a National Insurance number, by sending in the claim form anyway, to avoid delays⁴. If refugee status was granted before 7 April 2025, a claim can be backdated to when asylum was first claimed⁴.

Claiming promptly also protects two things that have nothing to do with the weekly payment. A Child Benefit claim builds up National Insurance credits for the claimant, which count towards the State Pension, and it means the child automatically receives their National Insurance number without having to apply shortly before they turn 16³. Parents who never claimed, or opted out, have historically had no route to recover those credits, and policy work has focused on allowing those who did not claim Child Benefit to receive the National Insurance credits they are eligible for¹⁴.

When a child approaches 16 and stays in education, the claim must be extended rather than started again. Parents can extend their claim in minutes using the HMRC app or on GOV.UK, or by post or phone using the details in their letter¹⁵. HMRC has urged parents to do this before 31 August, because payments stop automatically at that date for a 16 year old who is not reported as staying in education or training¹⁵.

Payment dates, frequency and which account it can go into

Child Benefit is usually paid every four weeks, or weekly if you are a single parent or you or your partner get certain benefits¹⁷. The weekly option matters for budgeting on a low income, and it is worth knowing it exists before assuming the four weekly pattern is fixed.

The money goes into one account only. This can be a joint account you share with your child, but it cannot be split across accounts¹³. If a payment date falls on a bank holiday, the payment is usually made on a different date than usual¹⁹. Bank holiday dates are published in advance, so a late payment that coincides with a holiday is usually just a rescheduling rather than a problem with the claim¹⁹.

In Northern Ireland, benefits and pensions follow the same pattern of four weekly or weekly payment, with the same bank holiday rescheduling¹⁸. If you are repaying money to HMRC, for example after an overpayment, payments made by Faster Payments usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays, and HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it rather than the date it reaches its account²⁰.

Changes you must report to HMRC

Only the person claiming Child Benefit can tell HMRC about a change of circumstances¹⁶. If you claim Child Benefit, you also need to report changes to your child's circumstances, not just your own²¹. Report changes using the Child Benefit online service, or call or write to the Child Benefit Office¹⁶.

The main changes affecting the child that must be reported are¹⁶:

• the child will live away from you for 8 weeks in a row, or more than 56 days in a 16 week period
• the child will go abroad for more than 12 weeks
• the child goes into care or residential accommodation for more than 8 weeks, or hospital for more than 12 weeks
• the child goes to prison or youth custody for more than 8 weeks
• the child moves to or from Northern Ireland
• the child starts getting Universal Credit, Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance

If your child gets a Gender Recognition Certificate to change their gender, HMRC will usually be told automatically; if they have not changed their gender legally, you do not need to tell HMRC¹⁶. The wider list of changes that must be reported across benefits, such as moving house, income changes or a death in the household, is covered in reporting a change of circumstances.

The consequence of not reporting is concrete in both directions: you may not get all the money you are entitled to, or you may be overpaid and have to pay money back¹⁶. Parents whose child's plans change, for example leaving education or starting a paid apprenticeship, must tell HMRC straight away to avoid being overpaid¹⁵.

When Child Benefit stops, and staying on in education

Child Benefit stops automatically on 31 August on or after your child's 16th birthday if they leave education or training¹⁶. If they stay on in approved education or training, it can continue until they turn 20²². For children of 16 or over, the payment then stops at the end of February, 31 May, 31 August or 30 November, whichever comes first, when they²²:

• leave approved education
• start to get Universal Credit
• start paid work of 24 or more hours a week
• start a course of higher education
• reach the age of 20

Two further rules soften the edges. A temporary break from education can be ignored for up to 6 months if the child is 16 or over, and Child Benefit can be paid for longer breaks if they are due to physical or mental ill health²². And where a young person cannot stay in education because of their circumstances, an extension period can apply, but Child Benefit stops when that extension ends or when the child turns 18, whichever comes first²².

The practical step is the one in the previous section: extend the claim before 31 August using the HMRC app or GOV.UK, and tell HMRC straight away if plans change later¹⁵. Which courses count as approved education is covered in Child Benefit after 16.

High Income Child Benefit Charge: the £60,000 to £80,000 taper

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) applies if either you or your partner receives Child Benefit and at least one of you has income over the threshold, which is £60,000 of adjusted net income for tax years starting from 2024 to 2025 (it was £50,000 up to and including 2023 to 2024)³. If both partners are over the threshold, whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the charge³. A partner is someone you are not permanently separated from and are married to, in a civil partnership with, or living with as if you were³.

Adjusted net income is your total taxable income, including savings interest and dividends, calculated before Personal Allowances and less certain reliefs such as pension contributions and Gift Aid³. This is why two households with the same salary can face different charges: pension contributions reduce adjusted net income and can bring someone back under the threshold.

Between £60,000 and £80,000 the charge is tapered. You pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 you earn over the threshold³. At £80,000 or more, you have to pay all of it back³. The government's policy statement on raising the threshold describes the taper rate as halved compared with the old £50,000 regime, where the charge was 1% for every £100 over the threshold³.

Because the taper is gradual, a household earning between £60,000 and £80,000 may still be better off receiving some of the payment, and the charge is capped at the full amount of the Child Benefit: it can never cost more than the benefit itself²³. It does not matter if the child living with you is not your own child; the charge still applies³. If you pay the charge in full, you get no extra money from claiming, but the claim still carries the National Insurance credits and the child's National Insurance number³.

Paying the charge through PAYE or Self Assessment

There are two ways to pay the charge: through your PAYE tax code or through Self Assessment³. Eligible parents can pay through their PAYE tax code using the HICBC digital service, or through Self Assessment¹⁵. The PAYE route spreads the charge across the year: HMRC amends your tax code and the charge is collected monthly via your salary²⁵.

You must pay through Self Assessment if either of the following applies: you need to send a tax return for another reason, for example self employment income, or it is later than 31 January in the year after the tax year the charge is for³. If you have previously completed a Self Assessment tax return only to pay the tax charge, you can choose to pay through PAYE instead by contacting HMRC by phone to leave Self Assessment and register for PAYE payment³. Phone HMRC if you want to start paying through PAYE and you no longer need to send a tax return for another reason²⁶.

To use the digital service you will need your adjusted net income, the National Insurance number of any partner who received Child Benefit in the last tax year, and the dates of relationships with any partners receiving Child Benefit²⁶. If you cannot establish your partner's income yourself, HMRC will reply yes or no to whether your partner or ex-partner gets Child Benefit or has a higher income than you, without giving financial information or their National Insurance number²⁶.

HMRC has launched an improved Self Assessment registration service, and some customers who only complete a tax return to pay the charge may be able to pay via the PAYE digital service instead²⁵. The wider rules on Self Assessment, including when income not taxed through PAYE triggers a return, are covered in personal tax in the UK.

Opting out of payments without losing National Insurance credits

If your income is above the threshold, you can opt out of receiving payments. If you opt out, you are still registered for Child Benefit but do not receive the payment, you do not have to pay the tax charge, and you still get the National Insurance credits and a National Insurance number for your child without them having to apply shortly before they turn 16³. You can say on the claim form that you do not want to receive payment²³.

This is the option that preserves the two long term benefits of a claim. National Insurance credits count towards your State Pension³. The child's automatic National Insurance number at 16 also depends on the claim being made, even if payments are opted out of¹⁴. So a household where the charge would claw back everything still has a reason to be registered.

The credits matter most to a parent who is not earning, or earning below the threshold for paying National Insurance, in the years they are at home with children. Policy work in this area has recognised the problem for those who did not claim, focusing on allowing people who did not claim Child Benefit to receive the National Insurance credits to which they are eligible¹⁴. Independent advice is to still make a claim to protect your entitlement to National Insurance credits²³.

Guardian's Allowance: £22.95 a week on top of Child Benefit

Guardian's Allowance is a separate payment for people bringing up a child whose parents have died⁵. You may also be eligible if there is one surviving parent⁵. It is paid on top of Child Benefit and it is tax-free⁵.

The rate is £22.95 a week⁵, set for the 2026 to 2027 tax year in the uprating legislation¹. For comparison, it was £22.10 in 2025 to 2026 and £21.75 in 2024 to 2025¹.

Guardian's Allowance has its own reporting duty: you must tell the Guardian's Allowance Unit about certain changes to your circumstances⁵. Because it is tied to Child Benefit, the rules on when Child Benefit stops, such as a child leaving education, generally apply here too. Families dealing with a bereavement may also be entitled to the Bereavement Support Payment, and free calculators can check the whole picture at checking what you are entitled to.

Overpayments, mistakes and challenging a decision

If you are overpaid Child Benefit, you will usually have to pay it back, and HMRC normally asks for repayment in a lump sum²⁰. Overpayments usually arise from unreported changes, most commonly a child leaving education or starting paid work, which is why HMRC presses parents to report changed plans straight away¹⁵. You can only repay Child Benefit in this way if you have been overpaid¹⁷.

When repaying, the payment method affects timing: Faster Payments usually reach HMRC on the same or next day including weekends and bank holidays, and HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, not the date it reaches its account²⁰.

A decision about Child Benefit or Guardian's Allowance that a person believes is wrong can be challenged by asking the Child Benefit Office of HMRC to look at the decision again²⁸. This is the mandatory reconsideration step, and if it succeeds the backdating works in the claimant's favour: for a new claim, HMRC will backdate the Child Benefit to the date the claim was made, and for an ongoing claim, to the date it was stopped or reduced²⁸. The process, deadlines and next step of appealing to a tribunal are covered in challenging a decision.