Child Benefit for a new baby: how much and how to claim

Child Benefit is a regular payment towards the cost of bringing up a child, and you can claim it from 48 hours after registering your baby's birth. It is £27.05 a week for your eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each other child, usually paid every 4 weeks. Claims can be backdated up to 3 months, so if you claim within 3 months of the birth you won't lose any weeks.

Only one person can claim for a child, and the choice matters. Whoever claims gets National Insurance credits towards their State Pension while the child is under 12. Those credits fill gaps in years when you're not working or earn too little to pay National Insurance, so the claim usually belongs with the parent most likely to have years like that.

If either of you has an income over £60,000, the High Income Child Benefit Charge takes back some of the money, and all of it from £80,000. It's still worth claiming. Below £80,000 you keep part of the payments, and even if you opt out of them, the claim keeps the National Insurance credits and gets your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one.

How much Child Benefit you get for a new baby

Payments usually arrive every 4 weeks, so a first baby brings in £108.20 every 4 weeks, or £1,406.60 over a 52-week year. They carry on until your child turns 16, or 20 if they stay in approved education or training.

If you already have children, only the eldest in your household gets the higher rate. A new baby with one older brother or sister adds £17.90 a week, taking the family to £44.95 a week: £179.80 every 4 weeks or £2,337.40 a year. With twins as your first children, one gets the higher rate and the other £17.90. There is no limit on how many children you can claim for.

The same rule applies if you live with a partner who already claims for their own children. You can each claim for different children, but only one child in the household gets the higher rate, and if you both claim it you may have to pay some back.

If you get other benefits, Child Benefit counts towards the benefit cap. You still receive all of your Child Benefit, but your other benefits may be reduced.

How to claim Child Benefit after the birth

You can claim through the online service on GOV.UK from 48 hours after the birth is registered. If you already get Child Benefit for an older child, use the same service to add the baby to your existing claim rather than starting a new one. If you can't apply online, you can claim by post or by phone.

Have these ready before you start:

• your baby's birth certificate, if you have it
• your bank or building society details
• your National Insurance number, if you have one
• your partner's National Insurance number, if you have a partner

You can claim without the birth certificate, but it takes longer and you may be asked to post it once you have it. Send it when asked, or you may have to start the claim again.

Passing the credits to your partner or a grandparent

If the parent who claims doesn't need the credits, for example because they're back at work and paying National Insurance, your partner can apply to transfer them. If neither of you needs them, a grandparent or other relative who looks after your baby may be able to get them instead, as Specified Adult Childcare credits.

Earning over £60,000: the High Income Child Benefit Charge

The charge is based on each parent's own income, not your combined income. Two parents on £55,000 each pay nothing, while a family with one parent on £70,000 and the other at home does pay it. The figure that counts is your adjusted net income: your total taxable income, including savings interest and dividends, minus certain tax reliefs such as pension contributions and Gift Aid. That means paying into a pension can bring it down.

If only one of you is over £60,000, that parent pays the charge, whichever of you receives the Child Benefit. If you are both over, the one with the higher income pays. The charge takes back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 of income over £60,000. For one child over a full year, when the payments total £1,406.60, it works out like this:

With an older child too, the same share applies to both payments, so at £70,000 the charge would be £1,168.70 of £2,337.40. In the tax year your baby is born you get less than a full year's Child Benefit, so the charge is smaller as well. The Child Benefit tax calculator works out your own figure.

Take the payments or opt out?

Between £60,000 and £80,000, taking the payments and paying the charge leaves you better off, because the charge is never more than the Child Benefit you received. From £80,000 everything goes back, so opting out gets you the same result without a charge to pay. You stay registered for Child Benefit, the parent who claims still gets the National Insurance credits, and your child still gets a National Insurance number.

If your income could end up below £80,000, for example because of a smaller bonus or a year that includes maternity or paternity leave, taking the payments means you won't miss money you turn out to be entitled to. If you opt out and your income later falls, you can ask to restart the payments.

How the charge is paid

You can pay the charge through PAYE, so it comes out of your pay, or through Self Assessment. You have to use Self Assessment if you already send a tax return for another reason, for example because you're self-employed.

Free childcare and Tax-Free Childcare: what to plan next

Once Child Benefit is in place, the next dates to plan around are for childcare. Both schemes below use the same online childcare account, and the first date to note is when your baby is 23 weeks old.

The key dates for a new baby, from the Child Benefit claim to the start of the free hours. The free hours apply in England.

Free Childcare for Working Parents in England

Working parents in England can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year for children aged 9 months to 4 years. Some providers let you spread fewer hours over more weeks. The childcare has to be with a registered provider, such as a nursery or childminder.

You can usually get it if:

• you, and your partner if you have one, are working, about to start a job, or on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave
• you each expect to earn at least £2,643.68 in the 3 months after you apply if you're 21 or over, which is 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage (younger parents and apprentices have lower thresholds)
• neither of you has an adjusted net income over £100,000
• you both have a National Insurance number

If one of you isn't working but gets certain carer's or disability benefits, you may still qualify.

You can apply from when your baby is 23 weeks old. The hours then start on 1 January, 1 April or 1 September, depending on when your baby turns 9 months:

• turns 9 months between 1 September and 31 December: hours from 1 January (apply by 31 December)
• turns 9 months between 1 January and 31 March: hours from 1 April (apply by 31 March)
• turns 9 months between 1 April and 31 August: hours from 1 September (apply by 31 August)

A baby born in mid-November, for example, is 23 weeks old in late April and 9 months old in mid-August, so the free hours can start on 1 September. If you're on leave, the date you go back to work counts too. Going back between 1 October and 31 January lines up with hours from 1 January, between 1 February and 30 April with 1 April, and between 1 May and 30 September with 1 September. Your provider confirms the exact start date, and GOV.UK's dates table shows when to apply in each case.

Applying usually takes about 20 minutes, and you normally hear straight away or within 10 days. If you're approved, you get an 11-digit code to give your provider along with your National Insurance number and your child's date of birth. To keep the free hours, sign in every 3 months to reconfirm your details, including while you wait for the place to start if you applied more than 3 months ahead.

The hours themselves are free, but providers can charge for extras such as meals, nappies, trips or hours on top of the 30. If you'd rather not pay, they should agree an alternative, such as you bringing food or nappies, and you still get the free hours. If a provider won't agree, speak to your local council.

If you don't qualify, all 3 and 4-year-olds in England can get 15 free hours a week, and some 2-year-olds can too when the family gets certain benefits. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own childcare schemes, so the hours and dates in this section apply in England only.

Tax-Free Childcare

Tax-Free Childcare helps with the childcare you pay for, such as nursery fees before your baby reaches 9 months or hours beyond the free 30. You pay money into your childcare account and the government adds £2 for every £8 you pay in, up to £500 every 3 months for each child, or £2,000 a year. If your child is disabled, the limit is £1,000 every 3 months, up to £4,000 a year. On a £250 bill, for example, you pay in £200 and the government adds £50.

You'll usually need to be working, and your child must be 11 or younger (16 or younger if disabled). Your nursery, childminder or nanny has to be registered and signed up to the scheme, so check with them before you apply. You can also use the account for extras such as meals and nappies when your provider supplies them. As with the free hours, sign in every 3 months to confirm your details, or the top-ups stop.

When you apply for the free hours, HMRC also checks whether you can get Tax-Free Childcare. If you get Universal Credit, you'll need to choose between Tax-Free Childcare and help with childcare costs through Universal Credit, because you can't get both at once.