Child Benefit for kinship carers

How does Child Benefit work?

You are entitled to Child Benefit if you are living in the UK and bringing up a child who is:

• under 16
• under 20 if they are in approved education or training

There’s no limit to how many children you can claim for, however only one person can get Child Benefit for a child in their care.

Child Benefit gives you:

• an allowance for each child (usually paid every 4 weeks)
• National Insurance credits (which count towards your State Pension)
• a National Insurance number for your child without them having to apply for one (they will usually get their NI number before they turn 16.)

You can get Child Benefit regardless of your income. However, if you or your partner individually earn more than £60,000 a year, you may have to pay extra tax which would cancel out some or all of the Child Benefit.

Who can claim Child Benefit?

The child’s parent can keep claiming child benefit for up to 8 weeks after their child goes to live with someone else. This is as long as the friend or relative does not make a claim. It can continue for longer if the parent makes contributions to the child’s upkeep.

As a kinship carer, if you want to receive the money directly, you will have priority because the child is living with you. If there are competing claims, you may have to wait longer for a decision to be made about your claim.

If your local council is paying towards the child’s accommodation or maintenance, you might not qualify. Contact the Child Benefit Office to find out if you can claim or not.

If you’re responsible for a child who has lost one or both of their parents, you may also be entitled to Guardian’s Allowance.

How much will I get?

There are 2 Child Benefit rates:

• £25.60 per week for the eldest or only child
• £16.95 per additional child

Any Child Benefit payments you get will count towards the benefit cap. The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit you can get.

There is more information about payments, should your family spilt up or families join together, on the GOV.UK website.

When do I need to make a claim?

You can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or as soon as a child comes to live with you. You can also claim for up to 3 months of backdated Child Benefit.

It can take up to 16 weeks for a new Child Benefit claim to be processed.

How to apply for Child Benefit

You can apply for Child Benefit online at GOV.UK, or by post by downloading and filling in the Child Benefit Claim form.

When you apply, you will need the following:

• the child’s birth certificate
• your National Insurance number
• your bank or building society account details
• your partner’s National Insurance number, if you have one