Urgent warning for thousands of parents who could see key benefit payment stopped within hours

CHILD benefit is a valuable income top up for parents, worth £25.60 a week for an eldest or only child and £16.95 a week for any other children.

Over a year, that soon stacks up, adding up to more than £2,200 a year for a family with two eligible children.

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However, failing to update HMRC about certain changes could result in your payments stopping abruptly or, worse, you having to make hefty repayments.

The biggest date in the calendar year to be aware of is August 31.

That’s because parents of children who turn, or have already turned 16, automatically get their payments stopped on this date.

But most parents will still be eligible for the top up as many young people stay in full-time education after 16.

This includes any child studying for A Levels or the International Baccalaureate.

It can even include children who are home-educated under certain circumstances, as well as young adults doing approved training courses.

You will receive a letter in the year your child will turn sixteen, asking you to confirm their plans – so parents who want to keep receiving the cash need to respond and let HMRC know.

As part of this, you need to let them know when your child’s training or education will end.

This will determine when you stop getting child benefit.

You’ll get payments up to and including the week that includes:

• August 31, if the full-time non-advanced education or approved training finishes in June, July or August, or when the young person is sitting a “higher certificate” or “advanced higher certificate” in Scotland and entered for exams
  that finish before the end of May
• November 30, if the full-time non-advanced education or approved training finishes in September, October or November
• The last day in February, if it finishes in December, January or February
• May 31, if it finishes in March, April or May

The end date will be an official one provided by the school, college or training provider.

However, if your child is planning to do another eligible course or training scheme, you may still get child benefit.

Once again, you will need to alert HMRC or your payments will stop.

You might also be able to extend child benefit payments for up to 20 weeks if your child is 16 or 17 and has registered for work, education, or training with a “qualifying body”.

Qualifying bodies include:

• The local careers service
• Connexions
• A local authority support service
• The Ministry of Defence

To get the extension, you’ll need to apply for it.

Who is eligible for child benefit payments?

If you are responsible for a child or children aged under 16, you can get child benefit.

Only one adult receives the payment for each qualifying young person.

If either you or your partner have an individual income that’s over £60,000, the higher earner will have to pay something called the high-income child benefit tax charge.

In a nutshell, that means repaying 1% of the child benefit for every £200 you earn over the threshold.

Once someone earns more than £80,000 all the child benefit
must be repaid.

However, it’s often still worth registering for child benefit, as it means that you get National Insurance credits towards your state pension.

National Insurance (NI) credits fill in gaps in your NI record where you take time out of work to care for children, so your state pension entitlement won’t be affected.

This is particularly important if one person in the couple is a stay-at-home parent.

You can register but choose not to receive the money, or the higher earner can pay it back through self-assessment.

If your child is aged between 16-20, you can still get child benefit if they are still in approved education or training.

The full list of examples of full-time, non-advanced education provided on the gov.uk website includes:

• GCSEs, A levels and other general academic qualifications of a similar
• standard, for example, iGCSEs, Pre-U and the International Baccalaureate
• NVQ level 1, 2 or 3
• BTEC National Diploma, National Certificate and 1st Diploma
• Traineeships (England)
• National 4 and 5 (Scotland)
• SVQ level 1, 2 or 3
• Scottish Group Awards

To count as full-time, the child must have at least 12 hours of education each week, not including homework or breaks.

The list of approved training schemes is:

In England:

• Foundation Learning Programme
• Access to Apprenticeships

In Scotland:

• The Employability Fund

In Wales:

• Foundation Apprenticeships or Traineeships

In Northern Ireland:

• PEACE IV Children and Young People 2.1
• Training for Success

However, training courses only qualify if they are not provided through an employer.

When a young person turns 20, their parents’ entitlement to child benefit will end straightaway.

It also stops if they start claiming benefits such as Universal Credit, or
work for more than 24 paid hours a week.

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