HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a final warning to parents and carers of 16 to 19-year-olds that they have only a few days left to confirm whether their teenager is staying in full-time education or approved training - if they fail to do so, Child Benefit payments will stop at the end of August.
HMRC has written to 1.3 million parents and carers of children, who are in the last year of school or education, to remind them to update their Child Benefit records. However, while more than 600,000 people have responded to the correspondence, nearly 700,000 are now at risk of losing their payments if they do not take action before Wednesday, August 31.
While young people are considering their future beyond their Scottish National Certificate or GCSE results, it is crucial that parents and carers update their Child Benefit records by the deadline this week or they could lose out on payments worth £21.80 per week for a first child and £14.45 for each additional child.
HMRC said the quickest way to update Child Benefit records is through the Personal Tax Account online at GOV.UK. Parents and carers can also return a completed copy of the form they were sent earlier in the year, or get in touch with HMRC by phone.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, said: “Child Benefit provides vital financial support for families and we want to make sure no-one misses out because they haven’t updated their details on time.”
Child Benefit is paid to eligible parents or carers who are responsible for a child under 16, or under 20 if they are in full-time non-advanced education or approved training.
Approved education
Education must be full-time (more than an average of 12 hours a week supervised study or course-related work experience) and can include:
- Scottish Highers
- A levels or similar, for example Pre-U, International Baccalaureate
- T levels
- NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to level 3
- Home education - if it started before your child turned 16, or after 16 if they have special needs traineeships in England
Courses are not approved if paid for by an employer or ‘advanced’, for example a university degree or BTEC Higher National Certificate.
Approved training
Approved training should be unpaid and can include:
- Employability Fund and No One Left Behind programmes in Scotland
- Foundation Apprenticeships or Traineeships in Wales
- PEACE IV Children and Young People 2.1, Training for Success, or Skills for Life and Work in Northern Ireland
Courses that are part of a job contract are not approved.
Apply for an extension
You could get Child Benefit for 20 weeks (called an ‘extension’) if your child leaves approved education or training and either:
- Registers with their local careers service, Connexions
- Signed up to join the armed forces
You can either:
- Apply for the extension online
- Apply for the extension by webchat, phone or post
To qualify your child must:
- Be 16 or 17
- Work less than 24 hours a week
- Not get certain benefits (for example Income Support)
HMRC guidances also states that you must have been entitled to Child Benefit immediately before they left the approved education or training and apply for it within three months of them leaving.
Find out more on the dedicated GOV.UK pages here.
To keep up to date with the latest benefits news, join our Money Saving Scotland Facebook group here, follow Record Money on Twitter here, or subscribe to our twice weekly newsletter here.
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