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.

Your Child Benefit stops on 31 August on or after your child’s 16th birthday if they leave education or training. It continues if they stay in approved education or training, but you must tell the Child Benefit Office. You’ll be sent a letter in your child’s last year at school asking you to confirm their plans.

Approved education

Education must be full-time (more than an average of 12 hours a week supervised study or course-related work experience) and can include:

• A levels or similar, for example Pre-U, International Baccalaureate
• T levels
• Scottish Highers
• NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to level 3
• home education - if it started before your child turned 16 or after 16 if they have special needs
• traineeships in England

Courses are not approved if paid for by an employer or ‘advanced’, for example a university degree or BTEC Higher National Certificate.

Child Benefit tax calculator

Use this tool to get an estimate of:

• how much Child Benefit you receive in a tax year
• the High Income Child Benefit tax charge you or your partner may have to pay
• Start now