HMRC 1-day alert or lose out on £1,355 payment | Personal Finance | Finance
Parents have just one day left to tell the tax office that their 16-19-year-old is continuing education or training, or their Child Benefit payments will be stopped.
Parents need to extend their claims by Sunday, August 31, to continue receiving the payments. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said, “Teenagers can be expensive, and Child Benefit is an important source of income for your household. As soon as you know what your teen is doing in September, don’t miss out. You can extend your claim in minutes through the HMRC app or online to ensure your payments continue.”
Child Benefit is paid at £26.05 a week (£1,354.60 a year) for the eldest or only child, and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child.
The benefit can continue to be paid for young people who are studying full-time in non-advanced education and unpaid approved training courses. Approved education includes:
- A levels or similar, for example International Baccalaureate
- T levels
- Scottish Highers
- NVQs and most vocational qualifications up to level three
- Home education – if it started either before your child turned 16 or after 16, if they have a statement of special educational needs
- Study programmes in England
- A pre-apprenticeship.
The approved training courses should be unpaid and include:
- In Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme
- In Scotland: No One Left Behind programme
- In Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work.
Education and training that is not approved
You cannot get Child Benefit if your child is:
- Studying for a university degree or BTEC Higher National Certificate (an ‘advanced course’)
- 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.
HMRC says it has written to 1.5 million eligible parents reminding them to extend their Child Benefit claim for their 16 to 19-year-olds.
The quickest and easiest way to ensure payments continue is to extend via the HMRC app or online through the digital service. Parents can also scan the QR code in their reminder letter to go straight to the digital service.
However, parents should check their household income before extending, as those earning between £60,000 and £80,000 may be affected by the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
For families who fall into this category, the online Child Benefit tax calculator provides an estimate of how much benefit they will receive and what the charge may be.
Who can claim Child Benefit?
To claim Child Benefit, people need to live in the UK and be responsible for someone under the age of 16. This usually means they live with the child, or they pay at least the same amount as Child Benefit towards looking after them. Only one person can claim Child Benefit, even if a person is in a couple.
People may be able to continue claiming Child Benefit until the child turns 20 if they are in approved education or training.
