Child Benefit when your child turns 16

Your Child Benefit will automatically stop on 31 August on or after your child’s 16th birthday if they leave education or training. 

You’ll be sent a letter in your child’s last year at school asking you to confirm if they’re staying in education or training.

Your Child Benefit will continue if you tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that your child is staying in approved education or training.

Only the person who is claiming Child Benefit can update HMRC about their child’s plans.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Approved education

Education must be full-time (more than an average of 12 hours a week of supervised study or course-related work experience). This can include:

  • A levels or similar, for example International Baccalaureate
  • T levels
  • Scottish Highers
  • NVQs and most vocational qualifications up to level 3
  • home education - if it started either before your child turned 16 or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs
  • study programmes in England
  • a pre-apprenticeship

Your child must be accepted onto the course before they turn 19.

Approved training

Approved training should be unpaid and can include:

  • in Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme
  • in Scotland: the No One Left Behind programme
  • in Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work

Education and training that is not approved

You cannot get Child Benefit if your child is:

  • studying for a university degree or BTEC Higher National Certificate (an ‘advanced course’)
  • on an apprenticeship (unless it’s a Foundation Apprenticeship in Wales)
  • doing a course with an employer’s agreement – for example in order to get a job with that employer, or to get skills for a job they’re already in
  • doing a training course that is part of a job contract

If your child is staying in approved education or training

You must tell HMRC if your child is staying in approved education or training. You can do this using the online service.

You’ll need to sign in to use this service. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them.

Start now

If you cannot use the online service, you can contact HMRC by phone or post.

Temporary breaks

Contact HMRC about breaks in your child’s education or training, for example if they change college. You might get Child Benefit during the break.

When approved education or training ends

When your child completes their approved education or training, payments will stop at the end of February, 31 May, 31 August or 30 November (whichever comes first).

If your child leaves the course before it’s complete, you must tell HMRC that your child is leaving approved education or training.

Apply for an extension

You could get Child Benefit for 20 weeks (called an ‘extension’) if your child leaves approved education or training and either:

  • registers with their local careers service, Connexions (or a similar organisation in Northern Ireland, the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein)
  • signs up to join the armed forces

You can either:

To qualify your child must:

  • be 16 or 17
  • work less than 24 hours a week
  • not get certain benefits (for example Income Support)

You must have been entitled to Child Benefit immediately before they left the approved education or training and apply for it within 3 months of them leaving.

Other ways to report

Contact HMRC to report plans or changes.

Related content