If your Child Benefit has been reduced or stopped, you may be wondering why this happened. Tax experts at Income Tax listed five possible reasons and advised on whether there’s anything you might be able to do about it.
Your circumstances have changed
You must inform HMRC of any changes to your circumstances as soon as possible, as this can affect how much Child Benefit you are entitled to. Some changes could mean you get more money. However, the following changes in circumstance will result in reduced or no Child Benefit:
- You or your partner starts earning more than £50,000 — You will start paying a Child Benefit tax charge. If you earn more than £60,000, this tax will cancel out what you get in Child Benefit.
- You separate or divorce from your partner — Only one of you will receive Child Benefit, which will usually be the person the child lives with.
- Your living arrangements have changed — Moving house won’t affect your Child Benefit if the child still lives with you. If you go abroad, you will still get Child Benefit for the first eight weeks you are away (or 12 weeks if you are having medical treatment) as long as you still live in the UK and aren’t abroad for more than a year.
- Your immigration status has changed — If you are from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or Liechtenstein and lose your ‘right to reside’, your Child Benefit will stop. If you are not from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or Liechtenstein and your immigration status changes, your Child Benefit could be affected. However, your partner may still be able to claim.
Your child’s circumstances have changed
Again, you must inform HMRC of any changes to your child’s circumstances. The following instances might affect your entitlement to Child Benefit:
- Your child has turned 16 or 20 if they are in education or training
- Your child is aged 16 to 20 and leaves education or training
- Your child is over 16 and starts working more than 24 hours per week
- Your child gets married or forms a civil partnership
- Your child goes missing or dies
- Your child lives away from you for more than eight weeks in a row
- Your child moves in with their partner on a permanent basis
- Your child leaves the country for more than 12 weeks, unless it is part of school education or to get medical treatment
- Your child goes to prison for more than eight weeks
You’ve started receiving other benefits
Your Child Benefit might be reduced or stop altogether if you start receiving payments from your local council or someone else who is looking after the child.
Note that if you are receiving other benefits, you may receive less Child Benefit due to the benefit cap.
If your child starts receiving other benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, tax credits and Universal Credit, your Child Benefit will stop.
There’s been a bank holiday
Usually, Child Benefit is paid every four weeks on either a Monday or a Tuesday (or you can get your money paid weekly if you are a single parent or you’re receiving other benefits like Income Support). However, bank holidays can affect your payment date.
If your payment date falls on a bank holiday, HMRC will make a partial — or full — payment earlier than usual. If you do get a partial payment, HMRC assures you will still receive the full payment by the expected date.
You haven’t updated your details on time
Your Child Benefit will stop automatically on the 31st August after the child turns 16 — unless you let HMRC know that your child is continuing in full-time education or training or they are joining the armed forces or a government-sponsored careers programme.
If your child stays in education or training but then decides to leave, you will continue to get Child Benefit until whichever date after their 16th birthday comes first:
- The last day in February
- 31st May
- 31st August
- 30th November
If you fail to update your details in time, you may still be able to claim Child Benefit, but your payments might be late.
