HMRC has issued an urgent reminder for eligible families to claim £1,331 a year in Child Benefit.
Child Benefit is available to parents or guardians who are responsible for someone under the age of 16, or the age of 20 if the young person is in approved education or training. You can get £25.60 a week for your first child, then £16.95 a week for any additional child you may have.
But you need to register for Child Benefit - it isn't paid to you automatically. In a recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, HMRC said: "Got a newborn? Don't miss out on up to £1,331 a year with Child Benefit. Apply online to get your first payment in as little as three days."
Child Benefit rules have just changed, so more families on higher incomes are now eligible for payments. The threshold for when you need to start paying back Child Benefit has risen from £50,000 a year to £60,000. When someone in your household starts to earn over £60,000, you have to pay some of the benefit back at a rate of 1% for every £200 you earn over this threshold.
Earn over £80,000 and you'll need to pay back 100% of your Child Benefit - meaning you don't get anything. The point for when 100% of your Child Benefit had to be paid back used to be £60,000. You need to live in the UK and be responsible for a child to claim Child Benefit.
This usually means they live with you, or you pay at least the same amount as Child Benefit towards looking after them. If two people look after a child, only one person can claim Child Benefit. You can claim Child Benefit if you fostered a child, as long as the local council is not paying anything towards their accommodation or maintenance. Child Benefit is also available if you adopted your child, as well as in certain circumstances where you're looking after a child for a friend or relative.