Parents who receive Child Benefit may experience changes in their payment schedule due to the upcoming August bank holiday. Child Benefit is a financial support provided to individuals caring for children under 16 years old, or up to 20 years old if the child is in approved education or training.
The benefit amount is £26.05 per week for the first child and £17.25 per week for each additional child. Usually paid on Mondays or Tuesdays, payments around the August 25 bank holiday will be issued earlier than usual. According to the information on the GOV.UK website, if your Child Benefit payment is due on Monday, August 25, you will receive it on Friday, August 22, with no change in the payment amount.
In Scotland, where there is another bank holiday on August 4, Child Benefit payments due on this date will be delayed to Tuesday, August 5. Child Benefit is distributed every four weeks by HMRC and benefits over seven million families.
To qualify for Child Benefit, you must reside in the UK, and the child usually must live with you or have equivalent care costs covered by you. There is no limit to the number of children you can claim for, but only one person can claim for each child. Foster parents can also claim Child Benefit if they are solely responsible for the child’s support.
For children aged 16 to 20, they must be in approved education or training for at least 12 hours per week to be eligible for Child Benefit. High earners may need to repay some of the benefit if their income exceeds £60,000 annually.
Child Benefit can be claimed 48 hours after registering a child’s birth or when a child starts living with you, with the option for retroactive claims up to three months.
