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How it works

You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is:

• under 16

• under 20 if they stay in approved education or training

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child.

It’s paid every 4 weeks and there’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

By claiming Child Benefit:

• you can get National Insurance credits which count towards your State Pension

• your child will automatically get a National Insurance number when they’re 16 years old

If you choose not to get Child Benefit payments, you should still fill in and send off the claim form.

If you or your partner earn over £50,000

You may have to pay back some of your Child Benefit in tax if your (or your partner’s) individual income is over £50,000.

If your circumstances change

You must report any changes of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office.

What you’ll get

There are 2 Child Benefit rates.

Who the allowance is for	Rate (weekly)
Eldest or only child	£21.80
Additional children	£14.45 per child

You must contact the Child Benefit Office if you’re paid too much or too little.

The benefit cap may affect the total amount of benefits you get, including Child Benefit.

How and when Child Benefit is paid

Child Benefit is usually paid every 4 weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

You can have the money paid weekly if you’re a single parent or getting certain other benefits, such as Income Support.

You can get the money paid into any account, apart form a Nationwide cashbuilder account (sort code 070030) in someone else’s name.

You can only get the money paid into one account.

Child Benefit and your State Pension

If your child is under 12 and you’re not working or do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions, Child Benefit can give you National Insurance credits.

These credits count towards your State Pension, so you do not have gaps in your National Insurance record.

If families split up

If a family splits up, you get £21.80 a week for the eldest child.

If you have 2 children and one stays with you and the other stays with your ex-partner, you’ll both get £21.80 a week for each child.

If you both claim for the same child, only one of you will get Child Benefit for them.

If you have other children who are entitled to Child Benefit, you’ll get £14.45 for each child.

If families join together

If 2 families join, the eldest child in the new family qualifies for the £21.80 rate and any other children who are eligible will get the £14.45 rate.

If you or your partner earn over £50,000

You can get Child Benefit if you (or your partner’s) individual income is over £50,000, but you may be taxed on the benefit. This is known as the High-Income Child Benefit Tax Charge.

If your partner’s income is also over £50,000 but yours is higher, you’re responsible for paying the tax charge. You need to fill in a Self-Assessment tax return each tax years and pay what you owe.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to estimate how much tax you may have to pay.

Once you earn £60,000 you lose all your benefit through tax.

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 at least the same amount as Child Benefit (or the equivalent in kind) towards looking after them, for example on food, clothes or pocket money.

Eligibility rules are different if your child:

• goes into hospital or care

• lives with someone else

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.

Fostering a child

You’ll get Child Benefit if you foster a child, if the local council is not paying anything towards their accommodation or maintenance.

Adopting a child

You can apply for Child Benefit as soon as any child you’re adopting comes to live with you – you do not have to wait until the adoption process is complete.

You might be able to get Child Benefit for a period before the adoption – contact the Child Benefit Office to find out.

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.

Two people cannot get Child Benefit for the same child – if you want to make a claim, you must agree it with the person who’s currently claiming. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will decide who receives the Child Benefit if you cannot agree.

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.

Living abroad

You may be able to get Child Benefit if you go to live in certain countries or if you’re a Crown servant.

If you’ve moved to the UK

You may be able to get Child Benefit if you have moved to the UK and you have a ‘right to reside’.

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 or more a week and is no longer in approved education or training

• starts an apprenticeship in England

• starts getting certain benefits, such as Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance or tax credits.

If you or your partner earn over £50,000

You’ll still be eligible for Child Benefit even if you choose to stop receiving it. You can always change your mind and restart your payments.

Contact the Child Benefit Office if you’re not sure about your eligibility.

How to claim

You can claim Child Benefit as soon as you’ve registered the birth of your child, or they come to live with you.

How long it takes

It can take up to 16 weeks to process a new Child Benefit claim (or longer if you’re new to the UK). Child Benefit can be backdated for up to 3 months.

Deciding who should claim

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child, so you need to decide whether it’s better for you or the other parent to claim. The person who claims will get National Insurance credits towards their state pension if they are not working or earn less than £190 per week.

Make a claim for the first time

Fill in Child Benefit claim form CH2 and send it to the Child Benefit Office. The address is on the form.

You can apply for Child Benefit before registering the birth, if you cannot get an appointment with a register office before your child is 3 months old.

If your child is adopted, send their original adoption certificate with the form. You can order a new adoption certificate if you’ve lost the original.

If you do not have the adoption certificate you need, send your claim form now and send the certificate once you’ve got it.

If your child’s birth was registered outside the UK

When you send your claim form, include your child’s:

• original birth certificate

• passport or travel document used to enter the UK

If you’ve lost the original, you can order a new birth certificate.

Your child’s documents will usually be returned within 4 weeks.

Add a child to an existing claim

Call the Child Benefit helpline if all the following apply:

• your child is under 6 months old and lives with you

• your child was born in the UK

• your child’s birth was registered in England, Scotland or Wales more than 24 hours ago

• you’re a UK or Irish national and you’ve lived in the UK since the start of your claim

When you call, you’ll need your:

• National Insurance number

• child’s birth certificate (if you’ve registered the birth)

Child Benefit helpline

Telephone: 0300 200 3100

Welsh language: 0300 200 1900

Textphone: 0300 200 3103

Outside UK: +44 161 210 3086

Monday to Friday, 8AM to 6PM

If you do not need the criteria to add a child by phone

You’ll need to make a new claim by post. Fill in Child Benefit form CH2 and send it to the Child Benefit Office. The address is on the form.

If you’re claiming for more than 2 children, also include the ‘additional children’ form.

If you registered the birth in Northern Ireland

You’ll need to send the birth certificate by post when you have it.

HM Revenue and Customs – Child Benefit Office

PO Box 1

Newcastle Upon Tyne

NE88 1AA

United Kingdom

Claiming Child Benefit for someone else

You may be able to manage someone else’s Child Benefit claim.

Make a change to your claim

You must report any change of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office. These include changes to your:

• family life, for example getting married

• child’s life, for example leaving education or training

Change who gets Child Benefit

Contact the Child Benefit Office if you want someone else to claim Child Benefit, for example, your spouse or partner.

After you’ve done this, tell the other person to make a new claim.

Stop or restart payments

You can choose to stop or restart your payments at any time, for example because you or your partner earn over £50,000 a year. It does not affect your eligibility.

Get help with your claim

Contact the Child Benefit Office if you have any questions.

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

Make a complaint

You can complain to the Child Benefit Office if you’re unhappy with the way you’ve been treated.