HMRC has urged Brits to put in a claim for Child Benefit if they don't already as thousands could potentially be missing out on free cash.

Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to someone responsible for a child under the age of 16, or under the age of 20 if they're in approved education or training. The benefit, which is handled by HMRC, pays you £25.60 a week for your first child, then any other child you have qualifies for £16.95 a week each.

The cash is the Government's way of acknowledging the extra costs involved with raising a child. However, recent figures from Policy in Practice revealed that thousands are missing out on the cash boost by not claiming it. In a recent X post. the tax office urged those not claiming to apply. Alongside the post was a video which said: "You could claim up to £1,331 a year in Child Benefit for your first child and £881 a year for any other children you have. Claim on the HMRC app or online."

The Goverment recently made changed to the Child Benefit rules and it means thousands more people could be eligble to claim it. Originally, there was a limit to how much a parent could make until their Child Benefit payments began to taper away. Before April, this limit was £50,000 however it has now risen to £60,000.

This means you won't have to pay any of your Child Benefit back until you start earning £60,000 a year - the higher limit has also increased to £80,000 a year. It's important to remember that this figure is only applied to individuals and not to couples - so if you are in a couple then both of you can earn up to threshold and still claim. According to the financial firm Interactive Investor, the change impacted around 485,000 higher earners.

You can apply for Child Benefit through GOV.UK here and you can put in a claim for the money from the day after a child’s birth has been registered. If you are now eligible due to the rule change, you can still apply for Child Benefit the same way.

You will need the child's birth certificate to hand when claiming. To put in a claim, you will need to log in to or create a Government Gateway account - you will need proof of ID to create an account. Once your account has been activated, you will then be able to apply for Child Benefit.