Child benefit rates rise by 1.7% for 2025-26

Child benefit rates rose on 6 April 2025 to £26.05 a week (£1,355 a year) for the eldest or only child and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child¹. The OECD's description of UK tax and benefit rules for 2025 confirms the same weekly rate of £26.05 for the eldest child from 6 April 2025².

The new figures are a 1.7% increase on the £1,331 a year paid for the eldest child and £881 a year for each additional child in 2024-25¹. The annual uplift is linked to the rate of inflation in September of the previous year; this year's increase is based on September 2024, when the Consumer Price Index fell to 1.7%, the lowest figure since 2021¹. Inflation has since risen again and stood at 2.6% at the time the change was reported¹.

Source: Which?¹

The number of families claiming child benefit has fallen to the lowest level since 2003, according to HMRC figures¹. Since the introduction of the high-income child benefit charge (HICBC) in 2013, there has been a steady decline in the number of families claiming and receiving payments¹. The HICBC is a tax on child benefit that applies if a claimant or their partner earns more than £60,000; under current rules a self-assessment tax return is needed to pay it, and those earning over £80,000 must repay their full benefit entitlement in HICBC¹. Late payment interest on taxes is 8.5%¹.

Once registered with HMRC, parents will be able to choose to have the HICBC collected through company payroll, meaning they will no longer need to file a return to report child benefit; the changes come into effect in summer 2025 and HMRC will contact affected families when the new digital service launches¹.

Why it matters for households

The rates apply from 6 April 2025 and set the amount paid for each child in a household's child benefit award. Because the uplift follows September inflation, the 1.7% rise is below the 2.6% CPI rate reported later¹, so the payment's purchasing power has fallen in real terms since the increase was set.

Claiming child benefit also carries National Insurance credits, which count towards state pension entitlement for those not working, and the credits can be transferred to a partner who is in work¹. Which? puts the value of the voluntary contributions these credits replace at £17.75 a week, or £921 a year¹. That applies even where a family opts out of receiving payments, which is an option for those earning over £80,000 who would repay the full amount through the HICBC¹.

Families affected by the HICBC currently have to report child benefit through self-assessment; failing to do so can lead to a penalty and interest charged from the day payment was due¹. The move to collection through tax codes is intended to remove the need to file a return to report child benefit for those who register¹.

What happens next

The payroll collection of the HICBC takes effect in summer 2025, with HMRC contacting affected families when the digital service launches¹. The next child benefit uprating would follow the same September inflation link, though no figure for 2026-27 has been reported¹.