Households urged to claim £1,354 HMRC cash boost before August 31 | Personal Finance | Finance

Households with teenagers across the UK are being urged to extend their Child Benefit before August 31 to get a cash boost worth £1,354 per year.

Child Benefit can be claimed by parents or guardians who are responsible for raising a child under the age of 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. It is paid by HMRC every four weeks, either on a Monday or Tuesday, at a rate of £26.05 per week for one child, and £17.25 per week for each additional child.

The payment rates were uplifted by 1.7% in April meaning parents with one child can currently get £1,354.60 per year on the new rate, while those with two children can get an extra £897 per year, taking the total to £2,251.50 annually, and parents with three children can get £3,148.50. But there’s no limit – other than the Benefit Cap – which means if you had four children, or five, and so on, you could get even more than £3,148.50, with £897 for each additional child.

Parents with children aged between 16 and 19 must confirm their child’s continued education or training to continue receiving payments from HMRC, and the deadline to do so is August 31, 2025.

Failure to confirm this, either online via the HMRC website or through the HMRC app, will mean payments will automatically stop on this date.

HMRC has been sending letters to parents to remind them to confirm their child’s education or training status between May and July and is urging those who have still yet to complete this to do it before the deadline at the end of this month.

HMRC said: “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.

“Parents can extend their claim quickly and easily via the HMRC app or online on GOV.UK. The letters also contain a handy QR code which takes parents straight to the digital service on GOV.UK.”

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.

If claimants 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.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, added: “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.”