Parents of teens reminded to extend Child Benefit claim online
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-13)

Parents of 16 to 19 year olds can go online to extend their Child Benefit claim to guarantee payments in September.

- Parents of 16 to 19 year olds reminded to extend their Child Benefit claim by 31 August to continue payments
- Last year, 870,000 parents extended their Child Benefit with the majority confirming online
- Parents extending via the HMRC app or the digital service guarantee their payments quickly and easily
Parents of 16 to 19 year olds will receive reminders from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to extend their Child Benefit claim by 31 August if their child is staying in education or training or payments will automatically stop.

Child Benefit will automatically stop on 31 August on or after a child’s 16th birthday if it’s not extended.

Between May and July, letters will be sent to parents reminding them to go online to confirm if their teenager is staying in full time education or approved training after they finish their GCSEs to continue receiving their Child Benefit.

Parents can extend their claim quickly and easily via the HMRC app or online on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19). The letters also contain a handy QR code which takes parents straight to the digital service on GOV.UK.

Child Benefit is currently 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. More than 870,000 parents extended their Child Benefit claim for their teen last year with the majority confirming online or via the HMRC app in minutes.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

Child Benefit is an important boost to families. As soon as you know what your teenager is planning to do, extend your claim in minutes to guarantee your payments continue in September. Simply go to GOV.UK or the HMRC app to confirm today.

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 (https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19) to check full eligibility.

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 (https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-calculator) provides an estimate of how much benefit they will receive, and what the charge may be.

From this summer, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, families will 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 High Income Child Benefit Charge but those who choose to pay the charge 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 (https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge/restart-child-benefit) quickly and easily online or via the HMRC app.

Teenagers turning 16 can take control of their Child Trust Fund savings account, which could be worth thousands of pounds, and can withdraw the money once they turn 18. Child Trust Funds were set up for every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011.

If teenagers or their parents and guardians know who their Child Trust Fund provider is, they can contact them directly. If they don’t know where their account is, they can use the free online tool (https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fund) on GOV.UK to find out who their Child Trust Fund provider is.

Further Information

More information on Child Benefit for 16 to 19 year olds. (https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19)

1.5 million letters will be sent to parents of 16 to 19 year olds reminding them to extend their Child Benefit claim for their teenager if they are staying in full time education or approved training.

Eligible customers no longer need to wait for the letter to extend their claim. The service will be open online or in the HMRC app for all eligible customers.

Customers can update their Child Benefit claim via the HMRC app and via GOV.UK. Claimants who are unable to use online services can call or write to us using the contact details in their renewal letter.

Parents cannot claim Child Benefit if their child is taking a course that is part of a job contract.

Parents can view and manage their claim quickly and easily online or on the HMRC app (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/download-the-hmrc-app). This includes viewing payment information and proof of their claim, adding additional children and updating their details.

HMRC uses QR codes in letters and correspondence. The QR code will always take you to GOV.UK or the HMRC app. When you are logged into your HMRC account, we may use QR codes to redirect you to another page. If we’re using QR codes in communications you’ll be able to see them on the genuine HMRC contacts page (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/check-a-list-of-genuine-hmrc-contacts). To help fight phishing scams, send any suspicious emails containing QR codes to xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) then delete them.