CCM18010 - Child Benefit and Tax Credits: Who Receives Child Benefit

Responsible for a child or from April 2006 qualifying young person

People who are responsible for a child or, from April 2006, a qualifying young person in a week can get Child Benefit. For Child Benefit purposes a week starts on a Monday. Qualifying young person is the new terminology used for Child Benefit purposes for over 16 year olds from 10 April 2006.

Generally people are responsible for the child or qualifying young person when the child or qualifying young person lives with them. However they can also be responsible for the child or qualifying young person if the child or qualifying young person lives with someone else but they are paying money for the child’s or qualifying young person’s upkeep, see CBTM06000 for more information.

Only one person can get Child Benefit in relation to a child or qualifying young person at any one time, and they do not need to be the child’s or qualifying young person’s parent.

Exclusions

Child Tax Credit is no longer payable if responsibility ends or the conditions for a qualifying young person are no longer met.

Responsibility ends when the child or qualifying young person receives:

• incapacity benefit
• Contributory Employment and Support Allowance
• Tax Credits
• A person no longer meets the conditions for a qualifying young person when they receive:
• Income Support
• Income-related Employment Support Allowance
• Job Seeker’s Allowance

Child Benefit is no longer payable if responsibility ends or the conditions for a qualifying young person are no longer met.

Responsibility ends when the child or qualifying young person is:

• In local authority care
• In prison or detained in custody

A person no longer meets the conditions for a qualifying young person when they receive:

• Income Support
• Jobseekers Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit
• An Employment and Support Allowance
• Tax Credits

Before April 2006 Child Benefit was also not payable where the child was getting payments made under Section 4 of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 or Article 16 of the Industrial Training (Northern Ireland) Order 1984.