What is Child Benefit and when should you claim it

Child Benefit is a regular government payment for people who are responsible for raising a child. Unlike most benefits it is not means-tested — anyone raising a child in the UK can claim it, regardless of income. There is a separate tax charge that claws back some or all of the benefit for higher earners, which causes confusion about whether it is worth claiming at all. In most cases it is.

What it pays

Child Benefit is paid at a higher rate for the eldest or only child and a lower rate for each additional child. As of the 2025 rates, the higher rate is just over twenty-five pounds per week and the lower rate is just under seventeen pounds per week per additional child. It is paid every four weeks and is not taxable income in itself, though the High Income Child Benefit Charge (explained below) may affect higher earners. The payment continues until the child is sixteen, or until they turn twenty if they stay in approved education or training.

Claiming from birth — and why it matters for your State Pension

You can start claiming from the week after your child is born. Claiming promptly matters for two reasons: you receive the payments, and if one parent is not working, being registered as claiming Child Benefit protects their National Insurance record with NI credits. These credits count towards the State Pension in exactly the same way as NI contributions from employment. A parent who takes years out of work to care for children without registering for Child Benefit can find a gap in their NI record that affects their pension entitlement later.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge

If either parent has an individual income above sixty thousand pounds per year, the Higher Income Child Benefit Charge starts to apply. The charge is effectively a gradual clawback — at sixty thousand pounds you start to repay one percent of Child Benefit for every one hundred pounds earned above sixty thousand, reaching full repayment at eighty thousand pounds. The charge applies to the higher earner in the household, not to household income combined. The parent affected must register for Self Assessment and pay the charge through their tax return.

Should you still claim if you earn above the threshold

Yes — even if your income is above eighty thousand pounds and the charge will cancel out the full payment, there are good reasons to claim and then opt out of receiving the payments rather than not claiming at all. Claiming and deferring payment still protects the NI credits for a non-working parent. You can opt to receive the payments and pay the charge, or opt not to receive them while still getting the NI credit benefit. HMRC has an opt-out option precisely for this purpose.