Parents have been reminded they could “extend” a benefit worth up to £27 a week. You may not realise that you could be entitled to an extra four years of Child Benefit.
There is no cap on how many children you can claim for, and payments are typically made into your bank account every four weeks.
However, it is important to note that you can continue to claim for a child up until they reach the age of 20 if they stay in approved education or training. In a post made to social media platform X, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued a reminder to parents.
It said: “Did you know? Child Benefit can continue after your child turns 16.
“If they’re staying on in education or approved training after summer, your payments can continue. Find out how to extend your claim in the HMRC app or online.”
On the Government website it explains that you can get Child Benefit until your child turns 20 if they’re in certain types of education or training and they:
- Are accepted onto the course before they turn 19
- Do not get Universal Credit
However, you must tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about their education or training. Only the person who is claiming Child Benefit can do this.
Your Child Benefit automatically stops on August 31 on or after your child’s 16th birthday if:
- They leave education or training
- You do not tell HMRC that they’re staying in education or training
- They’re staying in a type of education or training where you cannot get Child Benefit
Check if your child’s education qualifies
You can get Child Benefit if your child is in full time non-advanced education. Full time is more than an average of 12 hours a week of supervised study or course-related work experience.
If your child has an illness or disability, they can do fewer hours if that’s appropriate for them. Non-advanced education includes:
- A levels or similar, for example International Baccalaureate
- T levels
- GCSEs
- Scottish Highers
- NVQs and most vocational qualifications up to level 3
- Home education
- Study programmes in England
- A pre-apprenticeship
You cannot get Child Benefit if your child is studying for a:
Check if your child’s training qualifies
You can get Child Benefit if your child is doing an unpaid “approved training” course. Approved training includes:
- In Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme
- In Scotland: the No One Left Behind programme
- In Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work
You cannot get Child Benefit if your child is:
- On an apprenticeship (unless it’s a Foundation Apprenticeship in Wales)
- Doing a course with an employer’s agreement – for example in order to get a job with that employer, or to get skills for a job they’re already in
- Doing a training course that is part of a job contract
What to do
If your child is over 16 but still qualifies for Child Benefit you must use the online service to tell HMRC that your child is staying in education or training. You can do this online here.
You could also get Child Benefit for 20 weeks (called an extension) if your child leaves education or training and registers with either:
- Their local careers service, Connexions (or a similar organisation in Northern Ireland, the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein)
- The Ministry of Defence, for example to join the armed forces