HMRC issues £1,406 warning to anybody with a baby | Personal Finance | Finance

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a £1,406 warning to anybody with a baby, urging new parents not to miss out. They revealed that over 30% of new parents are missing out on payments by not claiming this during their baby’s first year.

HMRC has told new parents to claim Child Benefit for their baby now, as new figures show one in three new parents are missing out during the initial year of parenthood. Parents can claim this through the HMRC app. This will ensure they receive their expected payment as soon as possible.

Those who do not claim the payment will be missing on the yearly amount of £1,406.60, with Child Benefit worth £27.05 per week for the eldest or only child.

For any children after that the amount to claim is £17.90 a week (£930.80 a year) but there is no limit as to how many children parents can claim for.

While over 6.8 million parents received Child Benefit in the year to August 2025, only 68.8% of them claimed the government support before their baby’s first birthday.

Child Benefit can be claimed as soon as 48 hours after a baby’s birth is registered but can only be backdated for up to three months from the date HMRC receives the claim, resulting in the issue of thousands of UK families not receiving what they’re entitled to.

To make a new Child Benefit claim, parents should create an online HMRC account and provide details of the child’s birth or adoption certificate, bank details to send the payment to and National Insurance number for themselves or partner if possible.

If a child is born outside of the UK, parents should provide the baby’s original birth or adoption certificate and passport or travel document.

Claiming the fund also means the child will automatically get their National Insurance number when they turn 16.

HMRC has also released a video, demonstrating exactly how to make the claim.

Those who might have previously opted out of Child Benefit payments need not panic. HMRC also stated that these families can opt back in and restart their payments quickly and easily on the HMRC app or online.

HMRC added: “If a claimant or their partner has an income of more than £60,000 a year, they will be liable to pay the High-Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC), with more information including about how to pay on the HICBC PAYE digital service on GOV.UK.”