Child benefit goes digital
Child benefit payments take up to 16 weeks to commence. Now, HMRC has launched an online claim service for new parents which it says will take ten minutes to complete, and as little as three days for payments to arrive. What will you need to use the new service?
HMRC has launched a digital application form for child benefit claims, following a successful pilot. The majority of new claimants will be able to use the service as long as they have (or obtain) a Government Gateway ID. The link to start a new claim can be found here. There is also a helpful video explaining how to make a claim. You will need information from a number of documents, namely your:
- child’s birth or adoption certificate
- bank or building society details
- National Insurance number
- partner’s National Insurance number, if you have one.
However, claims for children whose birth was registered outside the UK will still need original documents to be sent by post. An application can be made as soon as the birth is registered, and can be backdated by up to twelve weeks.
Related Topics
-
Alternative education providers can protect VAT refund claims
HMRC has confirmed that some alternative providers of higher and further education can submit VAT refund claims following a Court of Appeal ruling, despite HMRC appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. What do you need to know?
-
Old IHT forms will be rejected
HMRC has stopped processing old versions of the Inheritance Tax IHT100 forms from 31 August 2026. Anyone reporting an IHT chargeable event involving a gift or trust will need to make sure they are using the correct forms. What do you need to know?
-
The tax incentive to do a thorough stock-take
The annual stock-take isn’t exactly your favourite thing to do. You know resources could be better spent elsewhere so you try to get through it as quickly as possible. Why might it be worth a little more of your time?



This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.