Hundreds of thousands of parents could face a CANCELLATION of child benefit payments within hours if they don’t take action today

HUNDREDS of thousands of parents could lose their child benefits within hours if they don’t take action now.

August 31 is the deadline for parents of 16-19 year olds to extend their claim, otherwise their money will be cancelled.

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Most parents in the UK are eligible for this benefit, which can top up their income by £1,000 a year.

Parents with a 16-year-old child who is still in full-time education must report this to the government before the end of the day. Otherwise, child benefit will stop.

This is because payments automatically stop on August 31 of your child’s 16th birthday, when he/she stops studying or following a course of study.

If your child goes on to undertake an approved course or training, such as A-levels or Scottish Highers, you can continue to receive the money.

Child benefit is £25.60 for your eldest child and £16.95 for any subsequent children.

That amounts to £1,331.20 per year for the eldest child.

So if your child has two more years of study left, for example if they decide to do the International Baccalaureate or go on to A-levels, you could be missing out on £2,662.40 of free money.

Between May and July this year, HMRC wrote to 1.5 million parents to remind them of the deadline. So far, more than 522,000 parents have extended their claim.

Some families can also apply for an extension of child benefit when their children’s education or training has ended.

Teaching must be full-time (more than an average of 12 hours per week of supervised study or course-related work experience) and may include:

• A-levels or equivalent, e.g. Pre-U, International Baccalaureate
• T-levels
• Scottish Highers
• NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to level 3
• Homeschooling – if it started before your child turned 16 or after 16 if they have special needs
• Internships in England

Approved training must be unpaid and may include:

• In Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ programme
• In Scotland: The No One Left Behind Programme
• In Northern Ireland: PEACE IV Children and Young People 2.1, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work

Some families can also apply for an extension of child benefit when their children’s education or training has ended.

You can receive child benefit for 20 weeks if your child leaves the recognized education or training and:

• Register with your local careers service, Connexions (or a similar organisation in Northern Ireland, the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein)
• Signs up to join the armed forces

Households can apply for the extension through Gov.UK or by calling HMRC on 0300 200 3100. We explain more below.

How do I extend my child benefit?

You can update your child benefit details via GOV.UK. Alternatively, you can return the form 297b that you received from HMRC.

Legal guardians or parents who adopt a child can also file a claim for maintenance once the child comes to live with them.

To use the online service, you will need a Government Gateway user ID and password.

If you don’t have a user ID yet, you can create one when you use the service.

Once you have notified the Tax Authorities, you no longer need to do so unless your child’s situation changes.

Instead, you will receive payment until the end date of their course, or until they reach the age of 20.

If your child starts working, you will stop receiving benefits.

What is child benefit and who is eligible?

Child benefit is paid to parents to cover the costs of childcare.

Normally you will receive a payment from the government every four weeks.

When you apply for child benefit, you will also receive social security contributions that count towards your state pension.

Normally, you are eligible for child benefit if you live in the UK and are responsible for a child under 16.

But you can also apply for maintenance for a child under the age of 20 if the child is following a recognized education or training course.

When two or more persons share responsibility for the care of a child, only one person can claim the right to maintenance.

You are responsible for a child if you live with the child or if you pay at least the same amount in child support to care for the child.

This could mean that you pay the same amount of child support for food, clothing or pocket money.

Please note that the award will change if your child is admitted to hospital or an institution or if your child goes to live with someone else.

Normally, you will receive child benefit for eight weeks after your child goes to live with a friend or relative, provided he or she does not apply.

But it may take longer if you contribute to your child’s livelihood yourself.

Foster parents can also apply for child benefit, as long as the municipality does not contribute to their housing or maintenance.

Legal guardians or parents who adopt a child can also apply for the allowance, but the child must live with them.

You can only claim for a short period if you leave the UK, for example if you go on holiday or for medical treatment.

If you are unsure whether you qualify, please contact the Child Benefit Service.

Child benefit

Everything you need to know about child benefit:

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