Thousands of parents in the UK have been urged to ensure they are claiming a benefit worth a £1,354 a year as a crucial deadline looms.
Child benefit is paid to millions of parents in the UK to help towards the cost of raising a child. It automatically stops after the child turns 16 – but it can be extended if they are still in education.
HMRC has warned all parents who may be eligible for an extension to apply by the 31 August deadline, otherwise they might miss out.
As this is on a Sunday, it only applies to online applications. Anyone who wishes to apply by calling HMRC should do so by Friday 29 August.
The benefit will not continue to be paid automatically, so it is the responsibility of parents to update the tax authority.
To be eligible for an extension, the exact criteria says that the child must be between the ages of 16 and 19, and in school, college or another recognised training course.
This can include:
- A-levels or similar
- T Levels
- Scottish Highers
- NVQs and most vocational qualifications up to level 3
- Home education – if it started either before your child turned 16 or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs
- Study programmes in England
- A pre-apprenticeship
If the child is studying for a university degree, an apprenticeship, or a training course as part of a job contract, their parent won’t be eligible for a child benefit extension.
The support is worth £26.05 a week, or £1,354.60 a year, for the eldest or only child. For any additional children, it is worth £17.25 a week, or £897 a year.
If a child stays in education from 16 to 19, this is three years extra of the benefit, or £4,063.80. It is automatically paid into bank accounts every four weeks.
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HMRC said it sent letters in May and July to parents reminding them to go online and confirm if their child is continuing in education.
For those who did not receive a letter, or have misplaced it, they can still access the HMRC webpage to extend. Parents need to ensure they have their government gateway ID and password to hand, or set up an account. The HMRC app can also be used.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Child Benefit is an important boost to families. As soon as you know what your teenager is planning to do, extend your claim in minutes to guarantee your payments continue in September. Simply go to GOV.UK or the HMRC app to confirm today.”
Parents should be aware of the ‘high-income child benefit charge’ rule, which means if one parent’s income is above £60,000, then they will become responsible for paying a tax charge. This effectively withdraws the payment at a rate of one per cent for each £200 earned over the threshold, meaning it is completely lost if either parent earns £80,000.
Earlier this month, data obtained by Sky News showed that 214,000 parents eligible for child benefit are not claiming it. Alongside the extra income, a non-working parent will automatically get national insurance credits if they claim child benefit for a child under 12.
These credits will count towards a state pension, reducing the amount of time that needs to be spent in work to build up national insurance contributions.
A person needs to have 35 years of qualifying national insurance contributions to get the full state pension in retirement.
The government announced last week it would crack down on those who have left the country and are no longer entitled to child benefit payments.
Cabinet Office minister Georgia Gould said: “This government is putting a stop to people claiming benefits when they aren’t eligible to do so. From September, we’ll have ten times as many investigators saving hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. If you’re claiming benefits you’re not entitled to, your time is up.”