Child Benefit UK: Complete Guide 2025

Child Benefit is free money the government gives you for having children.

It’s £25.60 per week for your first child and £16.95 per week for each additional child. That’s £1,331.20 per year for one child or £2,212.60 for two children.

Despite this, about 1 in 10 eligible families don’t claim it.

Some people don’t know it exists. Others think they earn too much. Some just can’t be bothered with the paperwork.

I’m going to explain exactly what Child Benefit is, who can get it, how to claim it, and whether you should claim even if you’re a higher earner.

Child Benefit UK

What Is Child Benefit?
Who Can Claim Child Benefit?
How to Claim Child Benefit
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC)
Should You Still Claim If You Earn Over £60,000?
When Does Child Benefit Stop?
Extending Child Benefit to Age 20
Child Benefit and Other Benefits
Guardians, Foster Carers, and Kinship Carers
Changing Who Claims
Common Child Benefit Problems
Tax and National Insurance
Child Benefit vs Child Element of Universal Credit
Should You Claim Child Benefit?
How to Check If You’re Getting Child Benefit
Final Thoughts

What Is Child Benefit?

Child Benefit is a tax-free payment to help with the costs of raising children.

You get it for each child until they turn 16 (or 20 if they stay in approved education or training).

How much (2025/26):

First/oldest child: £25.60 per week (£1,331.20 per year)
Each additional child: £16.95 per week (£881.40 per year)

Examples:

1 child: £1,331.20 per year
2 children: £2,212.60 per year
3 children: £3,093.00 per year
4 children: £3,974.40 per year

It’s paid every 4 weeks (or weekly if you’re a single parent or getting certain benefits).

Who Can Claim Child Benefit?

You can claim if:

You’re responsible for a child under 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education)
You live in the UK
The child lives with you or you contribute at least the Child Benefit amount to their upkeep

Only ONE person can claim Child Benefit for each child (usually the main carer).

You can claim if you:

Work or don’t work
Have savings
Own your home
Get other benefits

There’s NO means test for Child Benefit itself.

BUT: If you or your partner earn over £60,000, you might have to pay some or all of it back through tax (the High Income Child Benefit Charge).

How to Claim Child Benefit

You must claim within 3 months of the child’s birth (or coming to live with you) to get full backdated payments.

After 3 months, you can only backdate 3 months.

How to claim:

Fill in form CH2 (Child Benefit claim form)
Download from GOV.UK or get it from your Jobcentre or child health clinic
Send it with your child’s birth certificate (original, not a copy)
Post to: Child Benefit Office, PO Box 1,Newcastle upon Tyne, NE88 1AA

What you need:

Your National Insurance number
Your bank details
Child’s birth certificate
If you have a partner, their NI number and income

Processing time:

Usually 5-12 weeks from when they receive your claim.

Your child’s birth certificate will be returned to you.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC)

This is the confusing bit.

If you or your partner earn over £60,000, you have to pay back some or all of your Child Benefit through your tax return.

How it works:

Earn £60,000-£80,000: Pay back 1% for every £100 over £60,000
Earn £80,000+: Pay back 100% (all of it)

Example 1:

You earn £70,000. £70,000 – £60,000 = £10,000 over the threshold £10,000 ÷ £100 = 100 x 1% = 100%

You’d pay back your entire Child Benefit.

Example 2:

You earn £65,000. £65,000 – £60,000 = £5,000 over the threshold
£5,000 ÷ £100 = 50 x 1% = 50%

You’d pay back 50% of your Child Benefit.

Important: It’s based on the HIGHER earner’s income, not household income.

If you earn £50,000 and your partner earns £90,000, the charge applies.

If you both earn £70,000 each, the charge applies to whoever earns more.

Should You Still Claim If You Earn Over £60,000?

YES, you should still claim. Here’s why:

1. National Insurance credits

Claiming Child Benefit (even if you pay it all back) protects your State Pension.

The parent who claims gets National Insurance credits, filling gaps in their NI record.

This is worth thousands in State Pension over your lifetime.

2. Your income might drop

If your income drops below £60,000 later, you’ll already be receiving the benefit.

3. Your partner might not earn that much

If the higher earner is your partner, not you, you keep the benefit even though they pay the tax charge.

How to claim without receiving payments:

Tick the box on the claim form saying you don’t want to receive payments.

You’ll get the NI credits without actually receiving money.

This avoids having to pay it back through tax.

When Does Child Benefit Stop?

Child Benefit automatically stops when your child:

Turns 16 (31 August after their 16th birthday)
Turns 20 if they’re in approved education or training
Leaves approved education or training
Starts claiming certain benefits themselves
Starts an apprenticeship
Works 24+ hours per week

You must tell the Child Benefit Office when your child leaves education or their circumstances change.

Extending Child Benefit to Age 20

If your child stays in approved education or training after 16, Child Benefit continues until they’re 20 (or finish their course if earlier).

Approved education/training:

A Levels
Scottish Highers
NVQ up to level 3
Home education (approved)
Unpaid work experience or training

NOT approved:

University or higher education (that stops Child Benefit)
Apprenticeships
Paid work or training 24+ hours per week

You need to tell the Child Benefit Office your child is staying in education and provide details of their course.

Child Benefit and Other Benefits

Child Benefit DOES affect:

The benefit cap (it counts towards the cap)
Some means-tested benefits calculations

Child Benefit DOESN’T affect:

Universal Credit (you get UC on top)
Tax Credits (separate payment)
Other benefits like PIP, ESA, etc.

You can claim Child Benefit AND Universal Credit or Tax Credits.

Guardians, Foster Carers, and Kinship Carers

You can claim Child Benefit if:

You’re a legal guardian
You’re a kinship carer (looking after a relative’s child)
You’ve adopted a child

Foster carers:

You can’t claim Child Benefit for foster children. But the local authority should pay you a fostering allowance which is higher.

Shared care:

If parents share care equally, only one can claim. Decide between yourselves who claims.

If you can’t agree, HMRC will decide based on who has “main responsibility.”

Changing Who Claims

If circumstances change (parents split up, child moves), you can transfer Child Benefit to the other parent.

The current claimant needs to cancel their claim, and the new claimant applies.

There will be a gap in payments during the transfer.

Common Child Benefit Problems

“I claimed but haven’t been paid”

Check:

Did you send the birth certificate?
Has it been 12 weeks?
Are your bank details correct?

Call the Child Benefit helpline: 0300 200 3100

“I think I’m owed backdated payments”

You can only backdate 3 months unless you claimed within 3 months of birth.

If you think you’re owed money, call the helpline with evidence of when you should have claimed.

“My circumstances have changed”

Tell the Child Benefit Office immediately if:

You move house
Your child moves out
Your child leaves education
Someone else becomes responsible for your child
Your bank details change

You can do this online in your Child Benefit account or by calling.

“I got overpaid”

If you were paid Child Benefit you weren’t entitled to, you’ll have to pay it back.

This usually happens if you didn’t report a change in circumstances.

Tax and National Insurance

Child Benefit itself is tax-free.

But if you’re paying the High Income Child Benefit Charge, you pay it through Self Assessment tax return.

If you or your partner earn over £60,000:

The higher earner must:

Register for Self Assessment
Complete a tax return each year
Declare Child Benefit received
Pay the charge

When to register:

By 5 October after the tax year you first received Child Benefit while earning over £60,000.

When to pay:

By 31 January after the tax year ends.

Child Benefit vs Child Element of Universal Credit

These are different things:

Child Benefit:

£25.60/week for first child
Paid to all families (regardless of income until the charge kicks in)
Separate claim

Child Element of Universal Credit:

£287.92/month per child (except first child born after April 2017 gets £333.33)
Only for families on Universal Credit
Part of your UC claim

You can get both at the same time.

Should You Claim Child Benefit?

YES if:

You earn under £60,000 (you and your partner)
You’re the main carer and not working (NI credits protect your State Pension)
You’re a single parent

PROBABLY YES even if:

You or your partner earn over £80,000 (claim but don’t take payments – you get NI credits)

DEFINITELY YES if:

You’ve taken time off work to raise children
You’re not building up State Pension any other way

How to Check If You’re Getting Child Benefit

Online account:

You can:

Check payment dates
Update your details
Report changes
Download proof of entitlement

By phone:

Child Benefit Helpline: 0300 200 3100 Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm

Final Thoughts

Child Benefit is money you’re entitled to for raising your children.

Even if you’re a higher earner and have to pay some back, you should still claim for the National Insurance credits.

Don’t leave free money on the table. Claim it.

How to Claim:

GOV.UK Child Benefit – Official information and claim form
Child Benefit Helpline: 0300 200 3100

Last updated: October 2025

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