One in three new parents are failing to apply for Child Benefit in their child’s first year

I was on Moneybox last Saturday on BBC Radio 4 with Paul Lewis discussing the latest figures from HMRC which show that many parents are failing to claim Child Benefit in their children’s early years.

It’s really sad because Child Benefit was always the poster child for high take-up. Before 2013, when it was universal, take-up was consistently at 95% or above.

Now one in three new parents are failing to claim in their baby’s first year, and missing out on £1,400 if it’s their first child, or £930 if it’s their second.

This is because Child Benefit is now effectively means-tested through the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC). 

The HICBC was set at individual earnings of £50,000 when it was launched in 2013. It was later raised to £60,000, with Child Benefit withdrawn at a rate of 1% for every £200 earned above this threshold. As a consequence, parents see a 50% reduction at £70,000, and Child Benefit is lost entirely at £80,000.

This means that parents earning above £80,000 often don’t bother applying, while other parents have to stop and think about whether they should claim. Even this added complexity, which won’t apply to most parents, can put people off claiming.

One important caveat is that not all non-claiming families will necessarily be eligible for Child Benefit. Parents subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition cannot usually claim, and the growing number of children born into or arriving with families on temporary visas may account for some of the increase in non-take-up. However, it is unlikely to explain the full scale of the decline.

More importantly, the scale of non-take-up seems too large to be explained by high-income families alone. HMRC recently reported that more than 30% of new parents are not claiming Child Benefit in their child’s first year. Given that only a relatively small share of people earn more than £80,000, it seems unlikely that all these missing claims are from families who are not eligible for Child Benefit. Instead, it suggests that confusion about the rules or concerns about the tax charge may be discouraging claims more widely.

That means some parents will be missing out on support worth £1,400 in their first year (or £930 for a second child). That first year is when parents typically need the money the most, with maternity and paternity leave,  reduced earnings, and lots of new things to buy. 

In a recent paper on Child Benefit take-up since 2008, the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis (CeMPA) found that “take-up has declined significantly even among families not subject to the HICBC”. The authors also estimated that between 20% and 32% of families with children are subject to the HICBC, depending on family size. Many of these families will have incomes between £60,000 and £80,000 and therefore remain eligible for at least a partial Child Benefit award.

Notes: Replication of Table 3 from Mitton et al. (2026), based on UKMOD simulations using Family Resources Survey (FRS) data. Estimates show the proportion of families with children subject to the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) in 2023, by number of children. 

Beyond the cash support itself, parents who do not claim Child Benefit may lose access to valuable National Insurance credits that contribute towards their State Pension, while their child may also miss out on being automatically issued a National Insurance number at age 16.

The argument was “Why should higher earning parents get Child Benefit?” But the original purpose of Child Benefit (before 2013) was to support all families with children, recognising the additional costs they face and the importance of children to a healthy society.

The design of the HICBC can also produce some odd outcomes. A couple earning £59,500 each can still receive the full Child Benefit award, despite having a combined income of £119,000. Meanwhile, a single-earner household can start seeing its Child Benefit reduced once one parent earns more than £60,000.

Our research funded by the Nuffield Foundation found that even a small boost to incomes can improve children’s outcomes. Yet we now have a system where some families may be missing out on support during the very period when they are most financially stretched.

Given it isn’t likely we’ll go back to universal Child Benefit any time soon, I think there are few practical things we can do to increase awareness and encourage people to claim. 

1. Remind people

• I remember when my children were born that we were told about Child Benefit in the maternity ward, and again when we registered their births. This should be standard practice everywhere.
• Childcare providers, children’s centres,local authorities rolling out Family Hubs, and even primary schools (better late than never) should all help remind parents to claim.

2. Improve communications

• Encourage new parents to complete a benefits check, as they may be missing out on much more than Child Benefit. 
• Communications should focus on the fact that Child Benefit is only fully withdrawn once an individual earns £80,000. Telling parents that the charge starts at £60,000 may inadvertently discourage families who are still entitled to receive some support.

3. Use data

• We helped Camden council to link data on new parents for its Maternity Grant pilot, which included a nudge towards completing wider benefit assessment. 
• Other councils should explore using data on new births to promote Child Benefit take-up and connect families to other early years support. 

These actions will help, but if I’m honest I’m sad that these actions are needed at all.

Child Benefit used to be one of the most successful benefits in the UK, with take-up rates above 95%. By introducing complexity into a system that was simple and widely understood, we’ve ended up in a position where one in three new parents may be missing out on support during one of the most expensive periods of their lives. That’s a high price to pay.