Website of the UK government

Before your child turns 16

HMRC will get in touch between January and June in the school year your child turns 16. If you live in Scotland, they will contact you in either mid-June or mid-November. You will be asked if your child's planning to go on to relevant education or training and, if they are, what it is they’re doing and when they'll leave.

You can tell HMRC the information they need by either:

• calling the Child Benefit Office Helpline
• filling in the form HMRC send you and returning it to them

Once you've given HMRC these details, they will tell you if you can still get Child Benefit. If you don't let HMRC know, they stop your payments.

For how long will you be paid Child Benefit?

Once your child turns 16 HMRC can carry on paying Child Benefit for them as long as they are classed as a ‘qualifying young person’. This means you will receive Child Benefit for them until 31 August after their 16th birthday, and after that date payments only continue if one of the following applies:

• they are under 20 and in relevant education or training
• they are 16 or 17 and are registered for work, education or training with an approved body
• they have left school, relevant education or training after 31 August following their 16th birthday
  

What happens to your payments after your child’s 16th birthday?

When your child is 16 and leaves school, HMRC will usually stop your payments for them on the first Monday in September.

If your child leaves school or relevant education or training after the 31 August following their 16th birthday, different dates are set for stopping Child Benefit payments. These will usually continue from the date your child leaves relevant education or training until the week that includes the earliest of these dates:

• the last day of February
• 31 May
• 31 August
• 30 November

Payments will usually stop on the following Monday.

Sometimes, Child Benefit payments will stop earlier, for example if your child is 16 or over and starts working for 24 hours or more a week or starts getting benefits. You can find more information about these situations below.

If your child goes into full time education or training

HMRC can carry on paying Child Benefit up until the age of 20 if your child goes into relevant education or training. Your child would need to have either been accepted, enrolled or started on the course before the age of 19.

You cannot get Child Benefit if your child is doing:

• any other type of education or training
• relevant education or training that is provided by an employer or as part of a job contract
  

• Find out more about Child Benefit if your child is in further education or training (opens new window)

If your child no longer wants to do relevant education or training

Your child may have wanted to continue with their education or training but then changed their mind. For example their exam results may mean they can’t do the course they wanted. You must tell HMRC your child has changed their mind.

HMRC will treat the date your child changed their mind as if it was the date they stopped education or training. They can then usually carry on paying Child Benefit up to the earliest of the dates shown above.

If your child is under 18, you may also be able to get your Child Benefit extended for up to 20 weeks.

Extending Child Benefit if your child leaves relevant education or training

You can sometimes get a Child Benefit extension of up to 20 weeks if your child:

• is under 18
• has left relevant education or training

There are other conditions that you have to meet to get the extension.

• Child Benefit for under 18s who leave education or training (opens new window)

If your child starts work

If your child starts work after the age of 16, and is working 24 hours a week or more, HMRC will stop paying Child Benefit from the Monday after they start work. You must tell HMRC if this happens. But your payments can continue if, as well as working, your child also stays in relevant education or training. They must however have applied for or started the course before the age of 19. If so you can get Child Benefit until they leave or turn 20, whichever comes first. It doesn't matter how many hours they work.

If your child starts relevant education provided through their work or relevant training through a job contract, then Child Benefit will stop.

If your child starts getting benefits in their own right

You will not get Child Benefit if your child gets:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit
• tax credits

You must tell HMRC if your child gets any of these benefits. This is different to the benefits you get. Your Child Benefit will stop according to the day of the week your child started to get their benefits. For example, if your child’s benefits started:

• on a Monday, your payments will stop from that same Monday
• on any other day of the week, your payments will stop on the following Monday

Benefits your child might be getting that won't affect your payments are:

• Carer's Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Training or Educational Maintenance Allowance

If your child gets married or lives with a partner

You must tell HMRC if your child gets married or lives with a partner. You can usually carry on getting Child Benefit for your child if either of the following applies:

• your child is not living with their partner
• your child is living with their partner and their partner is in relevant education or training

• Child Benefit if your child is in further education or training (opens new window)

If your child goes back to school or college to take exams

You can still get Child Benefit if your child leaves school or college but is entered for exams in the next term. Once they've finished their last exam, HMRC will keep paying Child Benefit from the date of the last exam until the week that includes the earliest of:

• last day of February
• 31 May
• 31 August
• 30 November

Re-sits of exams may not count.

Your Child Benefit will stop if any of the following apply between the time your child leaves school and takes their exams:

• your child gets benefits in their own right
• your child reaches the age of 20
• your child starts paid work

Contacting the Child Benefit Office

You can contact the Child Benefit Office in a number of ways.

You can call the Child Benefit Office Helpline on 0845 302 1444 or textphone 0845 302 1474. The helpline is open between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm, seven days a week, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

If your preferred language is Welsh you can call on 0845 302 1489, and if you are telephoning from outside the UK you can call on + 44 161 210 3086.

Or you can write to HMRC at:
Child Benefit Office
PO Box 1
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE88 1AA.

You can also tell HMRC about any changes or ask for advice online by using the relevant links below.

• Let us know about changes online that may affect your Child Benefit (opens new window)
• Send HMRC your Child Benefit query online (opens new window)

More useful links

• Your child reaches 16 - are you still entitled to tax credits? (opens new window)