A person who is responsible for bringing up a child under the age of 16, or a child who is under 20 if they stay in approved education or training, can get Child Benefit. That said, only one person is able to get Child Benefit for a child.
Paid every four weeks, this sum could add up to help with the living costs that come with raising a youngster - but there's another perk too.
By claiming Child Benefit, a person can get National Insurance credits which count towards their state pension.
Recently, an alert was issued regarding the take-up of Child Benefit.
Lisa Holmes, childcare expert and Community Manager at childcare provider, tiney, shared some advice on making use of Government schemes available to those caring for children.
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One of the suggestions she put forward was starting to claim Child Benefit.
"A surprising number of families across the UK are eligible to claim child benefit but don’t know it," Ms Holmes said.
On the issue of paying for childcare, she suggested: "The Child Benefit provided by the UK Government could help parents pay for childcare if it’s provided by a registered childminder, nanny, playscheme, nursery, school or club."
Ms Holmes went on to explain some of the rules when it comes to a Child Benefit claim.
"You’re eligible to claim Child Benefit if you're responsible for one child or more," she said.
"Your children need to be under 16 years old, or between 16 and 20 years old and still in education or training to be eligible.
"It doesn’t matter if you work, or have savings and investments.
"If you're eligible you'll get £21.15 a week in benefits for your first child; and £14.00 a week for any children after that."
Over 52 weeks, the higher rate adds up to £1,099.80.
However, it may be some opt to waive Child Benefit, due to them losing the money anyway through the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge (HICBC).
The Government website explains: "You may have to pay a tax charge, known as the ‘High Income Child Benefit Charge’, if you have an individual income over £50,000 and either:
- You or your partner get Child Benefit
- Someone else gets Child Benefit for a child living with you and they contribute at least an equal amount towards the child’s upkeep
"It does not matter if the child living with you is not your own child."
It's possible to use the Child Benefit tax calculator on the Government website to get an estimate of a person's income and tax deductions to see if they will be affected by the tax charge.
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