Exact amount Child Benefit is rising by this April in HMRC rates shake-up

Child Benefit payments are set to increase by 1.7% from this April, providing a welcome boost for millions of families across the UK. Child Benefit is awarded to individuals responsible for caring for someone under the age of 16, or sometimes under 20 if they're in approved education or training.

Currently, it stands at £25.60 per week for your first child and £16.95 per week for any additional children. However, from April, the rate for the first child will rise to £26.05 per week, while the rate for an additional child will increase to £17.25 per week.

Child Benefit is paid every four weeks by HMRC. To be eligible, you must live in the UK and the child usually needs to live with you, or you pay at least the same amount as Child Benefit towards their upkeep.

There's no limit to the number of children you can claim for, but only one person can claim Child Benefit for each child. You can also claim Child Benefit if you foster a child, provided the local council isn't paying anything towards their accommodation or maintenance.

If your child is over 16 but still under 20, you can only receive Child Benefit if they're in approved education or training. This includes A-Levels or similar, T-Levels, Scottish Highers, NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to Level 3, reports the Mirror.

Home education - if it started before your child turned 16 or after 16 if they have special needs. Your child must be staying in approved education or training for 12 hours or more each week, and courses won't count if they're paid for by an employer.

HMRC will send you a letter, asking you to confirm your situation - you must reply to this, otherwise your Child Benefit will stop. If you're a high earner, you may have to pay back some of your Child Benefit.

You get the full amount of Child Benefit if you, or your partner, earn less than £60,000 per year. But if one of you earns over £60,000, you have to pay some of the benefit back at a rate of 1% for every £200 you earn over £60,000.

This is known as the High Income Child Benefit Charge and is normally done through self-assessment. This figure is per person, rather than per household - for example, you could both earn £59,000 and still be eligible to keep all your Child Benefit.

If you earn over £80,000, then you need to pay back all of your Child Benefit.

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