HMRC has issued a warning to some Child Benefit claimants in Scotland over a looming deadline. In a post on X on Tuesday (August 4), the UK tax authority wrote: "Has your child recently received their #SQA results? If they’re staying in education or training next year, you’ll need to update your Child Benefit claim on the HMRC app or online by 31 August."
"Don’t miss out on up to £1,406 a year," it added. Scotland's SQA qualifications are broadly equivalent to the GCSEs and A-Levels in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This year's results day fell on Tuesday (August 4).
Who is affected?
You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16, then under 20 if they stay in approved education or training provided the child is accepted onto the course before they turn 19 and the child does not get Universal Credit.
The HMRC warning therefore applies to parents with children carrying on non-advanced education or approved training for at least another year.
What education counts?
"Full time is more than an average of 12 hours a week of supervised study or course-related work experience," the GOV.UK website explains. "If your child has an illness or disability, they can do fewer hours if that’s appropriate for them."
"Non-advanced" education it covers including A-Levels, International Baccalaureate, and Scottish Highers (SQA) as well as T levels, GCSEs, NVQs and most vocational qualifications up to level 3, home education study programmes in England, and a pre-apprenticeship. However, once they take up advanced education (i.e. a university degree course) the support stops.
Benefit amounts
Child Benefit is worth £27.05 a week, which works out to £1,406.60 over the course of the year for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child.
You can find out more about Child Credit rules and eligibility criteria on the GOV.UK website.
