Guardian's Allowance is a tax-free payment for people who are bringing up children whose parents have died. In certain circumstances you may qualify for Guardian's Allowance where only one parent has died.
On this page:
To get Guardian's Allowance all of the following need to apply:
On top of these rules, one of the following must also apply to the parents:
If you adopt a child you may still get Guardian's Allowance as long as you were getting it before you adopted the child.
Child Benefit - do you qualify?
Sometimes you can get Guardian's Allowance if only one parent has died, for example, if:
The amount of Guardian's Allowance is £14.75 a week per child on top of the amount you get for Child Benefit.
Guardian's Allowance is paid with your Child Benefit payments. It is usually paid every four weeks directly into any bank, building society or National Savings and Investment (NS&I) account that accepts Direct Payment.
How Child Benefit, tax credits and Guardian's Allowance are paid
Guardian's Allowance doesn't count as income if you're claiming tax credits, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance. It is paid on top of these benefits.
Your Guardian's Allowance can usually be backdated for up to three months from the date the Guardian's Allowance Unit gets your claim. But sometimes they can backdate it to the point you started to qualify for Child Benefit.
It is best to make your claim straight away to avoid losing money. You should claim Guardian's Allowance as soon as the child involved comes to live with you.
Try to claim both Guardian's Allowance and Child Benefit at the same time so that the Guardian's Allowance Unit can deal with them both together. If you can't apply for Guardian's Allowance straight away, make sure you apply for Child Benefit.
When you claim you will need to provide:
The Guardian's Allowance Unit cannot normally accept photocopies.
You can:
Before you complete the claim form, please read the notes that go with it.
Once you have completed your form, please send it back to the Guardian's Allowance Unit at the address shown below.
Get a blank Guardian's Allowance claim form (PDF 201K)
Get help with claiming Guardian's Allowance (PDF 200K)
There are many changes that may affect your entitlement to Guardian's Allowance, and also Child Benefit, or may delay your payments.
For example, you must tell the Guardian's Allowance Unit if:
If you are getting Guardian's Allowance because one parent is dead and the surviving parent is in prison or in hospital, you must tell the Guardian's Allowance Unit if the surviving parent:
You can get a more complete list of changes that affect your Guardian's Allowance and Child Benefit by following the link below.
Child Benefit - which changes you need to report
You can report changes by:
Report a change of circumstances online
If the Guardian's Allowance Unit has looked at your Guardian's Allowance claim or your details, and has come to a decision that you don't agree with, contact them within a month of the decision date. You can ask them to:
It's your right to get a proper explanation about a Guardian's Allowance decision.
If the Guardian's Allowance Unit checks your claim, they'll either change their decision if they got it wrong, or stick with their original decision.
If you're still not happy, you can appeal against the decision. If you go ahead with an appeal, the Guardian's Allowance Unit will pass it on to an independent body, the Appeals Service, to look at. The appeals process for Guardian's Allowance is the same as the one for Child Benefit.
Appealing against a Child Benefit decision
You can get in touch with the Guardian's Allowance Unit in a number of ways. You can:
Send in your Guardian's Allowance query online
Contact details for the Guardian's Allowance Helpline
Alternatively, you can write to:
The Guardian's Allowance Unit
Child Benefit Office
PO Box 1
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE88 1AA
More about financial support for parents and children on the Directgov website (Opens new window)
