HMRC is urging people earning less than £80,000 per year to claim a benefit worth thousands of pounds per year.

Child Benefit provides income support to parents or carers to help with childcare costs and is paid by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The benefit entitles those who are eligible to an allowance for each child under the age of 16, or under 20 if they stay in education or training, as well as National Insurance credits towards your State Pension and a National Insurance number for your child.

The payment rates for Child Benefit increased in April at the start of the new tax year, meaning claimants can now get £26.05 per week for one child, amounting to £1,354.60 per year, and for each additional child you’ll get £17.25 per week. So, if you have two children you’ll get £2,251.60 per year and those with three children will get £3,148 per year. But there is no limit – other than the Benefit Cap – so if you had four children, or five, and so on, you could get even more than £3,148, with £897 for each additional child.

Currently, the maximum amount you can earn to receive any Child Benefit is £80,000, although if your income is more than £60,000 per year you may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

HMRC issued a reminder for people to check if they’re entitled to the benefit and urged high earners not to miss out. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), it said: “Opted out of Child Benefit payments because of the High Income Child Benefit Charge? The amount you or your partner can earn before paying the charge in now £60k, so you may be missing out on a cash boost. Opt in online or in the HMRC app.”

If you or your partner earn £60,000 or less per year then you can claim the full amount of Child Benefit if the child lives with you, or if you’re paying the same weekly amount as the benefit towards looking after them. Only one parent or carer can claim it, so you can decide between yourselves who gets it.

You can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you, and it can be backdated for up to three months.

Child Benefit can also be used to qualify for National Insurance, if for example you didn’t work because you were looking after a child, it can be used to earn a National Insurance year towards your pension.

Each year, Child Benefit is increased in line with inflation. In April 2025, the UK government increased the rates by 1.7% to the current amounts.