Child Benefit 2026: Rates, Claims and the Tax Charge

Child Benefit is a weekly payment from HMRC to the person responsible for bringing up a child under 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. From 6 April 2026 it is £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child, and there is no limit on how many children you can claim for. If you or your partner has an adjusted net income over £60,000, part or all of it is taken back through the High Income Child Benefit Charge, but claiming still protects your State Pension.

Who can get Child Benefit

According to GOV.UK, you can normally get Child Benefit if you are responsible for a child under 16 and you live in the UK. You count as responsible if you live with the child, or if you pay at least the same amount as Child Benefit (or the equivalent in kind) towards looking after them, for example on food, clothes or pocket money.

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child. If two people are responsible for the same child, they should agree between themselves who claims. If they cannot agree, HMRC decides.

A few situations have their own rules:

• Fostering: you can get it as long as the local council is not paying anything towards the child's accommodation or maintenance.
• Adoption: you can claim as soon as the child comes to live with you, without waiting for the adoption to be finalised.
• Informal kinship care: if you look after a friend's or relative's child under an informal arrangement, you may be able to claim, but you might not be entitled if the council is paying towards the child's accommodation or maintenance, so check with the Child Benefit Office.
• Young parents: a parent under 16 can claim for their own child, or someone responsible for the parent can claim on their behalf. GOV.UK notes you will usually get more if you claim yourself.

People with pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme can claim only in certain cases, for example if they are working and earning above the National Insurance primary threshold for 3 continuous months. Anyone unsure about their immigration position should check with the Child Benefit Office or a free adviser before claiming.

If a child has lost one or both parents, the person looking after them may also be able to get Guardian's Allowance, which is £22.95 a week per child on top of Child Benefit.

Child Benefit rates from 6 April 2026

The weekly rates for the 2026 to 2027 tax year were set by the Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance Up-rating Order 2026, which raised the eldest-child rate from £26.05 to £27.05 and the rate for other children from £17.25 to £17.90 from 6 April 2026.

A family with three children would get £27.05 plus two lots of £17.90, which is £62.85 a week. Older figures of £26.05 and £17.25 still circulate online; those were the 2025 to 2026 rates.

If a family splits up and each parent has a child living with them, GOV.UK says each parent gets the higher £27.05 rate for their eldest child. If two families move in together, only one child in the household gets the higher rate, and claiming the higher rate twice can lead to an overpayment that has to be repaid.

Child Benefit counts towards the benefit cap. If you are affected by the cap, the Child Benefit itself is paid in full but your other benefits may be reduced.

How to claim and how far it is backdated

You can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you have registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you. The main route is the online service on GOV.UK, which is also used to add another child to an existing claim. If you cannot apply online, you can claim by post or by phone.

Before you start, you will need:

• your child's birth or adoption certificate, if you have it
• your bank or building society details
• your National Insurance number, if you have one
• your partner's National Insurance number, if you have a partner

You can claim without the certificate, but the claim will take longer and you may be asked to send it later. If you do not send it when asked, you may need to start the claim again. For a child whose birth was registered outside the UK, you will need to send the original birth or adoption certificate and the passport or travel document the child used to enter the UK.

A claim can be backdated for up to 3 months from the date you make it. The 3 months run back from the claim date, not forward from the birth, so a family that waits 6 months to claim loses about 3 months of payments. Claiming soon after registering the birth avoids that.

How Child Benefit is paid

Child Benefit is usually paid every 4 weeks on a Monday or Tuesday. GOV.UK says you can have it paid weekly if you are a single parent or get certain other benefits, such as Universal Credit. Payment dates around bank holidays are listed on the Child Benefit payment dates page.

The money can go into any account except a Post Office card account or a Nationwide Cashbuilder account in someone else's name. It can only be paid into one account. It can be paid into only one account.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge

The High Income Child Benefit Charge is an income tax charge that takes back some or all of the Child Benefit paid to a household where someone earns over the threshold. Under section 681B of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, a person is liable if their adjusted net income for the tax year exceeds £60,000 and either they get Child Benefit and have no partner with a higher income, or their partner gets it and has a lower income.

Individual income, not household income

The test is each person's own adjusted net income. As of 25 October 2026 the charge is still assessed on the individual income of the higher earner; no household-income test is in force. GOV.UK says that if both partners are over the threshold, whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the charge. A partner means someone you are married to, in a civil partnership with, or living with as if you were, and from whom you are not permanently separated.

This means a couple each earning £55,000 pays no charge, while a couple where one earns £75,000 and the other earns nothing does. The charge can also fall on someone who does not claim Child Benefit: if someone else gets it for a child who lives with you, and they get it because they contribute at least an equal amount towards the child's upkeep, the charge may apply to you.

Adjusted net income is your total taxable income, including savings interest and dividends, less certain reliefs such as pension contributions and Gift Aid. Paying more into a pension can therefore bring adjusted net income down below the threshold.

How the taper works

GOV.UK states the rule this way: you pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 you earn over £60,000, and if you earn over £80,000 you pay it all back. Section 681C sets the same formula, with the percentage capped at 100% and rounded down to a whole number. The charge can never be more than the Child Benefit received.

Worked example. A parent with two children receives £27.05 plus £17.90, which is £44.95 a week. The 2026 to 2027 tax year contains 53 weeks for the purposes of the charge, because 6 April 2026 and 5 April 2027 are both Mondays, so a full year of Child Benefit comes to £2,382.35, which the law rounds down to £2,382. Their partner has an adjusted net income of £70,000, which is £10,000 over the threshold. £10,000 divided by £200 gives 50, so the charge is 50% of £2,382, which is £1,191. In a tax year with 52 Child Benefit weeks the same family would pay £1,168.

HMRC's own Child Benefit tax calculator on GOV.UK gives an estimate for your figures.

The thresholds above apply from the 2024 to 2025 tax year onwards. For 2023 to 2024 and earlier years, the charge started at £50,000 and took back 1% for every £100 over.

Paying the charge: PAYE or Self Assessment

There are two ways to pay. Through PAYE, you register with HMRC's online service and HMRC adjusts your tax code so the charge is collected from your wages or pension. Through Self Assessment, you declare the Child Benefit on a tax return each year.

GOV.UK says you must use Self Assessment if you need to send a tax return for another reason, such as self-employment, or if it is later than 31 January after the tax year you are paying for. For the tax year that started on 6 April 2025, for example, you must use Self Assessment after 31 January 2027. If you do not normally send a tax return and need to use Self Assessment, you must register by 5 October after the tax year, and you may get a penalty if you do not register or do not declare the Child Benefit.

If your partner's income is the issue and you cannot get the information from them, you can write to HMRC to ask whether your partner or ex-partner gets Child Benefit or has a higher income than you. HMRC will only answer yes or no.

Opting out versus claiming and paying

If your income is over the threshold, you can either receive the payments and pay the charge, or claim and opt out of the payments. If you opt out, you stay registered for Child Benefit but are not paid it, so there is no charge to pay. You still get National Insurance credits and your child still gets a National Insurance number automatically.

Opting out does not wipe out charges already built up. You must pay any charge owed for each tax year up to the date your payments stop. You also cannot opt out while the payments are being used to repay an overpayment.

You can restart payments at any time, for example if your income falls. GOV.UK says the first payment can take up to 28 days after the Child Benefit Office gets your request, and the charge applies from the restart date if income is still over the threshold. Between £60,000 and £80,000, taking the payments usually leaves a household better off than opting out, because only part of the benefit is taken back.

National Insurance credits and your State Pension

Claiming Child Benefit gives the claimant National Insurance credits automatically while the child is under 12. GOV.UK explains that these credits count towards your State Pension, so you do not get gaps in your National Insurance record if you are not working or do not earn enough to pay contributions.

This is why the decision about who claims matters. Whoever claims gets the credits, so in a couple it is usually better for the parent who is at home or earning less to make the claim. The credits are kept even if you opt out of payments or pay the charge.

If the claimant does not need the credits, a husband, wife or partner can apply to transfer them. A different family member who provides care for the child, such as a grandparent, can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits.

When Child Benefit stops or changes

You must report changes of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office, including changes in family life such as getting married and changes in your child's life such as leaving education. You can do this through the report changes service.

When your child turns 16

GOV.UK says Child Benefit stops automatically on 31 August on or after your child's 16th birthday if they leave education or training, if you do not tell HMRC they are staying on, or if their course is not one that counts.

It can continue until your child turns 20 if they are accepted onto the course before they turn 19, do not get Universal Credit, and are in full-time non-advanced education or approved unpaid training. Full time means more than an average of 12 hours a week of supervised study. A levels, T levels, GCSEs, Scottish Highers, NVQs up to level 3 and home education all count. University degrees, HNCs, HNDs and apprenticeships do not.

When a course is completed, payments stop on whichever comes first of the end of February, 31 May, 31 August or 30 November. If your child leaves early, tell HMRC straight away to avoid an overpayment.

A 16 or 17 year old who leaves education and registers with a careers service or the armed forces can keep Child Benefit going for 20 weeks. They must work under 24 hours a week and not get certain benefits, and you must apply within 3 months of them leaving.

Child Benefit also stops if your child starts paid work of 24 hours or more a week and is no longer in approved education or training, starts an apprenticeship in England, or starts getting benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit in their own right.

Hospital, care and residential accommodation

Payments may be affected if your child goes into care for more than 8 weeks, or into hospital or council-funded residential accommodation for more than 12 weeks. If a child goes back into hospital within 28 days of leaving, the stays are added together. There are exceptions, for example where a child in care spends at least 24 hours a week at home, or where you regularly spend money on a child in hospital. The details are on GOV.UK, and HMRC decides whether an exception applies.

Going abroad

You can usually keep Child Benefit during a trip abroad of up to 8 weeks for holidays or business, or up to 12 weeks for medical treatment or a death in the family. Tell the Child Benefit Office if you go abroad for longer than 8 weeks. Longer stays are covered only in specific cases set out on GOV.UK, such as some countries with a social security agreement with the UK and Crown servants.

If a child dies

GOV.UK says you will usually get Child Benefit for 8 weeks after a child dies. If a newborn baby dies before you have claimed, you can still claim by post for up to 8 weeks of Child Benefit if you claim within 3 months of the death, unless the child was stillborn. You should tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as possible, even if you had opted out of payments.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales

Child Benefit is a UK-wide benefit run by HMRC. The same rates and rules apply in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the 2026 up-rating Order changed the Child Benefit rates by amending a single set of regulations, the Child Benefit (Rates) Regulations 2006, while amending both the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Acts for Guardian's Allowance.

In Scotland, families can also apply to Social Security Scotland for Scottish Child Payment, which mygov.scot gives as £28.20 a week for each child under 16. It is a separate payment for people getting certain benefits such as Universal Credit, and mygov.scot says Child Benefit on its own does not count as a qualifying benefit.

In Northern Ireland, HMRC still makes Child Benefit decisions, but appeals go to the Appeals Service. nidirect says a Child Benefit appeal must be received by the Appeals Service within one calendar month of the date the mandatory reconsideration notice was sent.

Child Benefit and the two-child limit

Child Benefit has never been restricted to two children. GOV.UK states there is no limit to how many children you can claim for.

In Universal Credit, the two-child limit restricted the child element to the first two children in most cases. Section 1 of the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026 removed it in Great Britain for assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2026, and section 2 made the same change for Northern Ireland from the same date. It had no effect on Child Benefit, which was already paid for every child.

Challenging a decision and getting free help

If you disagree with a Child Benefit decision, the first step is to ask HMRC to reconsider it, known as mandatory reconsideration. If you still disagree, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. Our guide to challenging a benefit decision explains the steps and deadlines.

Free, independent help with claims, overpayments and appeals is available from Citizens Advice and, in Northern Ireland, from Advice NI. You do not need to pay anyone to claim Child Benefit; the claim is made directly to HMRC.

If you also look after a disabled child or adult, see our guide to Carer's Allowance. Support from the other parent after a separation is covered separately in our guide to child maintenance. For other UK benefits, see the UK benefits hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Child Benefit in 2026 to 2027?

From 6 April 2026 it is £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child. The rates were set by the Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance Up-rating Order 2026. It is usually paid every 4 weeks.

How far back can Child Benefit be backdated?

Up to 3 months from the date you make the claim, not from the date of birth. If you wait longer than 3 months after a child arrives, the earlier weeks are lost, so it pays to claim as soon as you can, which is 48 hours after registering the birth.

Is the High Income Child Benefit Charge based on household income?

No. As of 25 October 2026 the charge is worked out on each person's own adjusted net income. It applies if either partner's income is over £60,000, and the partner with the higher income pays it. Two partners each earning £55,000 pay no charge.

How much Child Benefit do I pay back if I earn £70,000?

Your adjusted net income is £10,000 over the £60,000 threshold. At 1% for every £200, that is 50% of the Child Benefit paid for the tax year. Once adjusted net income is over £80,000, the charge equals all of the Child Benefit.

Should I still claim Child Benefit if I earn over £80,000?

Usually yes. You can claim and opt out of the payments, which means you pay no charge but still get National Insurance credits while your child is under 12, and your child gets a National Insurance number shortly before they turn 16. This matters most for a parent who is not working or earning below the National Insurance threshold.

When does Child Benefit stop?

It stops automatically on 31 August on or after your child's 16th birthday unless you tell HMRC they are staying in approved education or training. If they stay on, it can continue until they turn 20. It also stops if your child starts paid work of 24 hours or more a week and leaves education, starts an apprenticeship in England, or starts getting benefits such as Universal Credit in their own right.

Did the two-child limit ever apply to Child Benefit?

No. Child Benefit has never had a limit on the number of children. The Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026 removed the two-child limit from Universal Credit for assessment periods starting on or after 6 April 2026.

Is Child Benefit different in Scotland or Northern Ireland?

No. HMRC pays Child Benefit at the same rates across the UK. Scotland has a separate Scottish Child Payment from Social Security Scotland for families on certain benefits, and in Northern Ireland appeals about Child Benefit go to the Appeals Service.

What if I disagree with a Child Benefit decision?

First ask HMRC to look at the decision again, which is called mandatory reconsideration. If you still disagree, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. Citizens Advice and, in Northern Ireland, Advice NI give free help with this.