Tag: 16 – 19 year olds

Parents urged to extend their teen’s Child Benefit claim online as deadline approaches

  • As teenagers get their exam results, parents are urged to renew their Child Benefit claim by 31 August for payments to continue in September
  • Parents can quickly and easily extend their Child Benefit claim via the HMRC app or online to guarantee their payments
  • Record numbers of parents of 16 to 19-year-olds staying in education or training have extended their Child Benefit online

With Scottish National and Higher exam results already known, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging parents who know their teenager’s plans in September to extend their claim now to continue to receive Child Benefit.

More than 509,000 parents of teenagers, who are staying in full-time education or approved training, have already extended their Child Benefit claim. A record-breaking 67% have done it online to guarantee their payments will continue in September. Parents need to extend their claim by 31 August or payments will automatically stop.

Child Benefit is worth £26.05 per week – or £1,354.60 a year – for the eldest or only child and £17.25 per week – or £897 a year – for each additional child.

HMRC has written to 1.5 million eligible parents reminding them to extend their Child Benefit claim for their 16 to 19-year-old.

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 which will take them straight to the digital service.

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 can continue to be paid for young people who are studying full time in non-advanced education as well as unpaid approved training courses. Visit GOV.UK for a full list of approved courses.

If either the claimant or their partner has an individual income of between £60,000 and £80,000, the higher earner will be subject to 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.

As part of the government’s Plan for Change, many families will soon have the option to use a new digital service to pay the charge directly through their PAYE tax code instead of filing a Self Assessment tax return.

The new service will cut red tape for eligible employed parents who are liable to the charge. Those who choose to pay through their Self Assessment can continue to do so.

Families who have previously opted out of Child Benefit payments can opt back in and restart their payments quickly and easily online or via the HMRC app

Extend Child Benefit for your teen by 31 August

Child Benefit can be claimed for children after they turn 16 if they are staying on in approved education or training

Parents have less than 2 weeks to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) their 16-19 year-old is continuing education or training or their Child Benefit payments will stop.

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers will decide on their future this week as they receive their GCSE results on Thursday (22 August 2024).

For parents of 16-19 year-olds who haven’t yet extended their claim, Child Benefit payments will stop after 31 August. If their child is going to continue in approved education or training, parents can continue receiving Child Benefit and HMRC is urging them to extend their claim now.

To make sure they do not miss out, parents can quickly and easily extend their Child Benefit claim online on GOV.UK or via the HMRC app. More than 270,000 parents have extended their claim digitally so far, with the changes applied to their record without the need to wait on the phone.

Parents should keep their claim details up to date, even if they’ve opted not to receive Child Benefit payments due to the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Parents who want to opt back into receiving Child Benefit payments, can do this quickly and easily online on GOV.UK or in the HMRC app. 

Child Benefit is worth up to £1,331 a year for the first or only child, and up to £881 a year for every additional child.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Child Benefit is an important financial support for many households and we don’t want to see any eligible family miss out.

“You can extend your claim quickly and easily online or via the HMRC app, just search ‘Child Benefit when your child turns 16’ on GOV.UK.”

Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families, said: “Child Benefit is valuable to families and particularly single parent families, who are forced to make ends meet on a single income.

“It’s really important, with the 31 August deadline fast approaching, that parents whose children are going into further education and training extend their claim as soon as possible to avoid missing out on this crucial financial help.”

Child Benefit can continue to be paid for children who are studying full time in non-advanced education, which includes:

  • A levels or Scottish Highers
  • International Baccalaureate
  • Home education – if it started before their child turned 16, or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs and it was assessed by the local authority
  • T levels
  • NVQs, up to level 3

Child Benefit will also continue for children studying on one of these unpaid approved training courses:

  • in Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme
  • in Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work
  • in Scotland: the No One Left Behind programme.

If a child changes their mind about further education or training, parents can simply inform HMRC online or via the HMRC app and payments will be adjusted accordingly.

Parents can check the status of their claims at any time by viewing their proof of entitlement in the app or online. 

Parents will need a Government Gateway user ID and password to use HMRC’s online services. If they do not have one already, they can register on GOV.UK and will just need their National Insurance number or postcode, and 2 forms of ID.