Parents of teens reminded of HMRC child benefit rule | Personal Finance | Finance

HMRC is sending out 1.5 million letters to parents of 16 to 19 -year olds reminding them they need to act by the end of August if they want their child benefit payments to continue in September.

Parents can continue receiving child benefit payments if their child is staying in education or training but unless they request an extension payments will automatically stop on 31 August on or after a child’s 16th birthday. HMRC said last year 870,000 parents extended their Child Benefit, with most doing so using the gov.uk online service.

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. 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.

Myrtle Lloyd, director general for customer services at HMRC, 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.”

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, which means the amount of child benefit will reduce.

The online 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.

Families who have previously opted out of child benefit payments can opt back in and restart their payments quickly and easily online or via the HMRC app.

Parents are being remindd they cannot claim child benefit if their child is taking a course that is part of a job contract.