The short answer
- £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child.
- £17.90 a week for each other child. There is no limit on the number of children.
- Paid every four weeks, usually straight into a bank account.
- If either parent’s income is over £60,000, the High Income Child Benefit Charge takes some of it back.
How much you get
The rates rise each April. For the 2026/27 tax year they are:
| Children | A week | Every 4 weeks | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £27.05 | £108.20 | £1,406.60 |
| 2 | £44.95 | £179.80 | £2,337.40 |
| 3 | £62.85 | £251.40 | £3,268.20 |
| 4 | £80.75 | £323.00 | £4,199.00 |
| 5 | £98.65 | £394.60 | £5,129.80 |
The higher rate goes to the eldest child you claim for. If that child stops qualifying, for example by leaving education, the next eldest moves up to the higher rate. Payments are normally made every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday. Single parents and some families on benefits can ask to be paid weekly.
Who can claim
You can usually claim if you are responsible for a child who is:
- under 16; or
- under 20 and in approved education or training.
You count as responsible if the child lives with you, or if you pay at least the amount of Child Benefit towards their upkeep while they live elsewhere. You do not have to be the parent: grandparents, step-parents and other relatives can claim. Only one person can get Child Benefit for each child.
You normally need to live in the UK. People subject to immigration control, such as those with no recourse to public funds, usually cannot claim, though there are exceptions.
Children aged 16 to 19
Child Benefit stops on 31 August after a child’s 16th birthday unless you tell HMRC they are staying in approved education or training. It can then continue until they are 20.
- Education
- A levels, Scottish Highers, T levels, NVQ level 3 and below
- Training
- Unpaid approved training, such as Foundation Learning
- Hours
- More than 12 hours a week of supervised study
- Higher education
- University degrees and HNDs
- Paid work
- Apprenticeships and jobs paying a wage
- Age
- Courses started at 19 or over
HMRC writes in the child’s last year at school asking whether they are staying on. Reply promptly or the payments stop. If a 16 or 17-year-old leaves education, you can usually keep getting Child Benefit for up to 20 weeks while they register with a careers service or job centre.
Child Benefit and your State Pension
The person named on the Child Benefit claim gets National Insurance credits for every week they claim for a child under 12. These credits count towards the State Pension, which needs 35 qualifying years for the full amount.
Make sure the right parent is named
If one parent works and earns enough to get a qualifying year anyway, the claim should be in the name of the parent who is at home or earning less than £6,708 a year. Otherwise the credits are wasted.
Grandparents and other family members under State Pension age who look after a child under 12 while the parents work can apply to transfer these credits with Specified Adult Childcare credits.
If you earn over £60,000
If either parent has adjusted net income over £60,000, the one with the higher income pays the High Income Child Benefit Charge. It takes back 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of income above £60,000, so all of it is repaid at £80,000.
| Higher earner's income | Charge | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| £60,000 | £0 | £2,337.40 |
| £65,000 | £584.35 | £1,753.05 |
| £70,000 | £1,168.70 | £1,168.70 |
| £75,000 | £1,753.05 | £584.35 |
| £80,000 | £2,337.40 | £0 |
Pension contributions and Gift Aid reduce adjusted net income, so they can reduce or remove the charge. The High Income Child Benefit Charge calculator shows the effect for your income.
Still claim if you will repay it all
Above £80,000 you can claim and choose not to receive payments. The parent at home still gets National Insurance credits, and the child is automatically given a National Insurance number at 16.
How to claim
- After the birthRegister the birth
You need the birth registered before you can claim for a newborn, except in some cases where you claim straight away.
- Soon afterClaim online or through the HMRC app
Most new claims can be made online. You need your National Insurance number and bank details.
- Within 12 weeksFirst payment
New claims are usually processed within a few weeks. The first payment can include arrears back to the claim date.
A claim can only be backdated three months. If you claim when a baby is five months old, you lose two months of payments. For one child that is about £235.
Part-year claims
Child Benefit is paid weekly, so a claim that starts or stops during the tax year only covers the weeks you are entitled to it.
- Weeks of the tax year left after the birth20
- Rate for an only child£27.05 a week
Part-year claims matter for the High Income Child Benefit Charge too: the charge is a percentage of the Child Benefit actually received in the tax year, not a full year’s worth.
Changes you must report
Tell the Child Benefit Office straight away if:
- a child aged 16 to 19 leaves approved education or training, or starts paid work of 24 hours a week or more;
- a child goes to live with someone else, goes into care or custody, or goes abroad for more than eight weeks;
- you get married, start living with a partner, separate or your partner dies;
- you or your partner’s income goes over £60,000, if you are not already paying the charge;
- you change bank account, address or name.
Overpayments have to be repaid, and failing to report a change can lead to a penalty. Changes can be reported online or through the HMRC app.
Separated parents and shared care
Only one person can claim for each child, even if the child splits their time between two homes. Parents need to agree who claims; if they cannot, HMRC decides, usually in favour of the parent the child lives with most.
With two or more children, separated parents can each claim for different children. Each household then gets the higher eldest-child rate for its own eldest, which can mean slightly more in total than one parent claiming for all.
Child Benefit and other benefits
- Universal Credit: Child Benefit is not counted as income, so it does not reduce your Universal Credit.
- The benefit cap: Child Benefit does count towards the benefit cap, which limits the total some working-age households can get.
- Guardian’s Allowance: if you are bringing up a child whose parents have died, you may also get Guardian’s Allowance, but you must be getting Child Benefit for that child.
- Free childcare and Tax-Free Childcare: separate schemes with their own rules; Child Benefit does not affect them.
Extra help in Scotland
Child Benefit is the same across the UK. Families in Scotland who get certain benefits, such as Universal Credit, may also get the Scottish Child Payment for each child under 16, paid by Social Security Scotland. It is a separate claim and does not affect Child Benefit.
What the National Insurance credits are worth
The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27 and needs 35 qualifying years. Each year therefore adds about £6.89 a week, or roughly £358.50 a year for the rest of your retirement, at today’s rates.
A parent who stays at home for five years while their children are small, and is not named on the Child Benefit claim, could miss five qualifying years: about £1,790 a year of State Pension, every year, for life. Filling the gaps later with voluntary Class 3 contributions costs far more than making sure the right parent is on the claim now.
Already claiming in the wrong name?
You can change the claimant to the other parent. Credits can sometimes be transferred for past years too; contact the Child Benefit Office.
When a young person starts work or claims
Child Benefit for a 16 to 19-year-old in approved education usually stops if they:
- start working 24 hours a week or more, outside their course;
- claim Universal Credit, tax credits or certain other benefits in their own right;
- start an apprenticeship that pays a wage;
- leave the course, or move on to university or other higher education.
If a child dies, Child Benefit continues for up to eight weeks afterwards, or until what would have been their 16th or 20th birthday if sooner. Tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as you can; they will explain what happens next.
Moving to or from the UK
Child Benefit normally stops if you or your child leave the UK for more than eight weeks, or 12 weeks in some cases, such as for medical treatment or after a bereavement. Tell the Child Benefit Office before you go.
If you move to the UK, you can usually claim once you are living here and meet the residence rules. Some people with settled or pre-settled status, refugees and those from countries with social security agreements can claim straight away; others need to have lived here for a period first.
A checklist for new parents
- Register the birth within 42 days in England and Wales, or 21 days in Scotland.
- Claim Child Benefit online or in the HMRC app, in the name of the parent who earns less.
- If either of you earns over £60,000, decide whether to take the payments or keep the claim and stop them.
- Check whether you can get Universal Credit, a Sure Start Maternity Grant or Healthy Start.
- Diary the date your child turns 9 months, when working parent childcare hours can start.