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HMRC is asking parents to opt-in to Child Benefit, as part of changes which will come into force this year. In a new tweet, it urges: "Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. "The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k.
Opt back in online or in the HMRC app." The net income threshold for eligibility to claim Child Benefit has increased from £50,000 to £60,000, prompting the social media campaign. Parents with an income of up to £80,000 can still receive some Child Benefit, but must repay a portion, and this is about to get easier too.
Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k. Opt back in online or in the HMRC app.
⬇️ https://t.co/QS26Y4qIhG pic.twitter.
com/Ecxo5EG3Kc — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) April 23, 2025 Changes to how HMRC Child Benefit high income charges are paid HMRC changes coming this year will also mean the high-income child benefit charge is simpler to pay. The high-income child benefit charge only applies if you or your partner earn more than £60,000. Under current rules, you need to file a self-assessment tax return to pay the charge, but it was mentioned in the Spring Statement that this will soon be available to pay directly through PAYE.
Once registered with HMRC, parents should be able to choose to have their HICBC collected through their monthly pay packet, meaning they’ll no longer need to file a return for that purpose. How much is Child Benefit and what was the increase for 2025? From April 7 2025, parents receive £26.05 a week (£1,355 a year) for their eldest or only child and £17.
25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child. These figures are a 1.7% increase on the £1,331 a year for the eldest child and £881 a year for each additional child paid in 2024-25 For now, if your income is over the threshold, you can choose to either get Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year, or opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge.
If you choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments You should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments. You need to fill in the claim form if you want to: get National Insurance credits , which count towards your State Pension get your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they’ll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old Recommended reading: HMRC urging parents to claim £2,000 tax-free childcare Child Trust Funds worth £1.
4bn in unclaimed accounts Child benefits to increase this year - how much and when do they go up? Is there a two-child cap on Child Benefit? No, and this is the cause of a great deal of confusion, as Martin Lewis has explained on his website Money Saving Expert . "Child Benefit is a universal payment made for every child you have," he says. "It should accurately be called the 'two-child limit for Universal Credit or Tax Credits'.
"This one applies to the benefits that people who have low incomes, whether they're working or not working, get. That's what this is about. "And in simple terms, it means if you have more than two children, then you won't get any additional benefit for the costs that they are incurring you (on Universal Credit and Tax Credits).
" HMRC tax-free childcare HMRC is also reminding parents to apply for tax-free childcare. You can a pply online for Tax-Free Childcare . This sees parents given up to £2,000 a year - split up into £500 each quarter - for each of their children to help with the costs of childcare.
This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (or up to £4,000 a year in total). To get tax-free childcare, parents just need to set up an online childcare account for each child. For every £8 they pay into this account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay a nursery or childminder.
Are you missing out on egg-cellent childcare savings? 🥚 Chick out our Tax-Free Childcare scheme and sign up to unlock savings of up to £2,000 a year per child on approved childcare costs. 💸🐣 Find out more 👇 https://t.co/RHCrwH40qG pic.
twitter.com/MOWi9XznIl — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) April 20, 2025 Your child must be 11 or under and usually live with you. They stop being eligible on September 1 after their 11th birthday.
Adopted children are eligible, but foster children are not. HMRC says you can use it to pay for childminders, nurseries and nannies, plus after school clubs and play schemes. Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and benefit from tax-free childcare.
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