COVID-19 – Potential for High-Earning Parents to Claim Child Benefit

Has your income dropped as a result of the COVID-19 crisis?  If it has, and you have children under the age of 16 and don’t ordinarily claim Child Benefit, you should evaluate whether you are now eligible to claim this benefit.

If you expect both you and your partner will each earn less than £50,000 in the year to 5 April 2021, then you will be eligible to claim the benefit.  If perhaps you have been furloughed, or your business profits have dramatically reduced and are unsure whether your income will remain below £50,000 for the remainder of the tax year, it would seem sensible to claim the benefit now and if your income levels do increase you can stop claiming it.  Please note that if your income levels exceed £50,000 you may have to repay the Child Benefit you have received through a mechanism known as the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

The current rates of Child Benefit are £21.05 per week for the first child, and £13.95 per week for subsequent children.   As it is only possible to claim Child Benefit retrospectively for a period of three months, you should consider claiming the benefit as soon as possible.

For further information on claiming Child Benefit visit https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit

Disclaimer - All information in this post was correct at time of writing.