Parents have less than a week to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) their 16-19 year-old is continuing education or training, or their Child Benefit payments will stop. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers will decide on their future this week as they received their GCSE results last Thursday. For parents of 16-19-year-olds who haven’t yet extended their claim, Child Benefit payments will stop after 31st August. If their child is going to continue in approved education or training, parents can continue receiving Child Benefit and HMRC is urging them to extend their claim now. To make sure they do not miss out, parents can quickly and easily extend their Child Benefit claim online on GOV.UK or via the HMRC app. More than 270,000 parents have extended their claim digitally so far, with the changes applied to their record without the need to wait on the phone. Parents should keep their claim details up to date, even if they’ve opted not to receive Child Benefit payments due to the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Parents who want to opt back into receiving Child Benefit payments, can do this quickly and easily online on GOV.UK or in the HMRC app. Child Benefit is worth up to £1,331 a year for the first or only child, and up to £881 a year for every additional child. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, says:
“Child Benefit is an important financial support for many households and we don’t want to see any eligible family miss out. You can extend your claim quickly and easily online or via the HMRC app, just search ‘Child Benefit when your child turns 16’ on GOV.UK.”
Child Benefit can continue to be paid for children who are studying full time in non-advanced education, which includes:
- A levels or Scottish Highers
- International Baccalaureate
- home education – if it started before their child turned 16, or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs and it was assessed by the local authority
- T levels
- NVQs, up to level 3.
If a child changes their mind about further education or training, parents can simply inform HMRC online or via the HMRC app and payments will be adjusted accordingly. Parents can check the status of their claims at any time by viewing their proof of entitlement in the app or online. Parents will need a Government Gateway user ID and password to use HMRC’s online services. If they do not have one already, they can register on GOV.UK and will just need their National Insurance number or postcode, and 2 forms of ID.
When I was a teen and had further education I also had to get a “Saturday” job to help with expenses. I sometimes wonder if we are too quick to pay benefits out to all in sundry.
At 16 you are considered a consenting adult – so therefore, not a child, as a child cannot give lawful consent. So why are these consenting adults, parents given child benefit.
typical lefty do gooders sponging – get weekend jobs, like the rest of us did when we were 16
Yet you were in receipt of child benefit yourself. Why don’t you work out how much it was and pay it all back?
i have already paid way more in tax than my parents ever received in child benefit for me and some more tax on top.