Parents with older teens are being warned they need to take action by 31 August or risk payments being stopped!

HMRC has warned that hundreds of thousands of parents could have their Child Benefit payments stopped for good, unless they take specific action by TOMORROW.

The warning applies to all parents who're eligible for Child Benefit and have children aged between 16-19.

If your children are in this age group and are continuing in full-time education, you're still eligible for benefit payments. But, only if you let HMRC know before the 31 August deadline.

HMRC say 1.3million letters have been sent to households asking them to confirm their child's plans, but at the last count only around 600,000 parents had responded, leaving almost 700,000 households still needing to take action.

If you don't take action, payments will stop and families could be at risk of losing out on over £1100 of benefits next year.

If your teenager turned 16 this year, or will turn 16 before 31 August, 2022, then this applies to you.

You'll still be entitled to claim £21.80 per week (if it's your oldest child) or slightly less if it's a second or third (etc) child – as long as they're continuing to study full-time at school or college (see below for what this means).

The benefit will carry on, as long as they're studying, up to the age of 19 – so don't miss out as it could mean losing out on over £3000 over the next few years!

How do I tell HMRC?

On its website, the government says:

'Your Child Benefit stops on 31 August on or after your child’s 16th birthday if they leave education or training. It continues if they stay in approved education or training, but you must tell the Child Benefit Office.

'You’ll be sent a letter in your child’s last year at school asking you to confirm their plans.'

If you can't find your letter, here's what to do.

Simply update your child benefit records via the government's website here . You'll need your government gateway ID and HMRC password.

Or if you have a 297b form that was sent to you, return this asap.

If your teenager isn't continuing in full-time education, you don't need to do anything.

What counts as 'full-time' education?

The government says:

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

• A levels or similar, for example Pre-U, International Baccalaureate
• T levels
• Scottish Highers
• NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to level 3
• home education - if it started before your child turned 16 or after 16 if they have special needs
• traineeships in England

It adds:

'Courses are not approved if paid for by an employer or ‘advanced’, for example a university degree or BTEC Higher National Certificate.'

Chat to other parents about the benefits and entitlements you may be eligible for in our forum, below.

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