Online child benefit claims extended to all eligible parents

HMRC has extended its fully digital child benefit claims system to all eligible parents, having previously restricted online claims to families with children under six months old. The online system opened to all eligible parents in the week beginning 8 January 2024, according to Which?, which reported the change on 14 January 2024¹. HMRC began accepting fully digital claims in May 2023¹.

The department says payments could arrive in as little as three days if an application is successful, compared with up to 16 weeks for the paper form¹. The online form continues to exist alongside the paper process¹. Claims can be made as soon as 48 hours after a child's birth is registered, and HMRC says claims can be backdated by up to 12 weeks¹.

Anyone responsible for a child under 16, or under 20 and in an approved form of education or training, is eligible for child benefit¹. A person is usually considered responsible for a child if they live with them, or pay at least the same amount as child benefit, or the equivalent in kind, towards looking after them¹. Only one parent or guardian can claim for a child, so partners need to decide which of them makes the claim¹.

Child benefit is not means-tested. In the 2023-24 tax year, the rate is £24 a week for a first or only child, then £15.90 a week for each additional child, with no upper limit¹.

Source: Which?, 14 January 2024¹

Where a claimant or their partner earns more than £50,000, the high income child benefit charge applies. It is 1% of the child benefit received for every £100 of income between £50,000 and £60,000, and the entire payment must be repaid above £60,000¹. The £50,000 threshold has not changed since it was introduced in January 2013¹. In August 2022, 683,000 families had opted out of payments, 5% more than in August 2021¹. Claimants over the threshold can opt out of payments while still completing the child benefit form to receive National Insurance credits, which count towards the state pension¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects parents and guardians who are eligible for child benefit but were previously outside the online system, meaning those with children older than six months. For them, the first payment can now arrive in days rather than the up to 16 weeks cited for paper claims¹. The amount received is unchanged: rates depend on the number of children, not on household income¹. Families where one parent earns above £50,000 remain liable for the high income child benefit charge, and above £60,000 the whole payment is clawed back¹. Because the charge is assessed on individual income rather than household income, a family with one earner on £60,000 and a non-earning partner cannot keep the benefit, while two parents each earning £50,000 can¹. Claiming can still build National Insurance credits towards the state pension even where payments are opted out of¹.

What happens next

Separate childcare support changes are scheduled. From April 2024, two-year-olds become eligible for 15 hours of free childcare a week; from September 2024 this extends to all children aged nine months and over; and from September 2025 the government plans 30 hours a week for all children under school age¹. Registration for the April 2024 two-year-old offer is already open on the government website¹. Further detail on benefits and on child benefit after 16 is available in the site's guides.