Anyone earning less than £80,000 per year is being urged to claim a HMRC benefit worth up to £3,094 per year.
Child Benefit is support for parents or carers to help with the cost of raising their children and is paid by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The benefit entitles you to an allowance for each child you have under the age of 16, or under 20 if they stay in education or training, as well as National Insurance credits towards your State Pension and a National Insurance number for your child.
You’ll get £25.60 per week for one child which amounts to £1,331.20 over the course of a year and each additional child gets £16.95 per week. So if you have two children you’ll get £2,212.60 per year and those with three children will get £3,094 per year.
As of April 6, 2024, the maximum earning amount to receive any Child Benefit is £80,000, although if your income is more than £60,000 per year you may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
HMRC has issued a reminder for people to check if they’re entitled to the benefit and urged high earners not to miss out.
In a post on X, it said: “Think you earn too much to receive Child Benefit payments? Check again to make sure you’re not missing out on money. To see what you could get, use our Child Benefit tax calculator below, before restarting payments online or in the HMRC app.”
If you or your partner earn £60,000 or less per year then you can claim the full amount of Child Benefit if the child lives with you, or if you’re paying the same weekly amount as the benefit towards looking after them. Only one parent or carer can claim it so you can decide between yourselves who gets it.
Labour confirmed in the October autumn budget that most benefits will increase by 1.7% in April next year, including Child Benefit. So from April the rates will rise to £26.05 per week for the eldest or only child and £17.25 for any additional children.
It means the benefit will be worth £1,354.60 per year for one child from April 2025, or £2,236 for two children and £3,117.40 for three children per year.
You can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you and it can be backdated for up to three months.
