Overview
- HMRC, which renewed its reminders on Monday through regional outlets, is telling parents to apply via the app or GOV.UK after data showed about one in three do not claim in the first year.
- Claims only backdate for three months, so late applications for a first child usually recover about £327 at most, based on the current £27.05 weekly rate.
- Parents can claim 48 hours after registering a birth, with payments set at £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 for each additional child, typically paid every four weeks.
- Claiming also gives National Insurance credits that help protect future State Pension years, and higher earners may have to repay some or all of the benefit through the High Income Child Benefit Charge from £60,000 to £80,000 of income.
- Payments can continue until age 20 if a child stays in approved education or training, and new claims require a birth or adoption certificate, bank details, and National Insurance numbers.