TCTM02220 - Entitlement: CTC entitlement
Definition of a child, qualifying young person, disabled and severely disabled child or qualifying young person
Definition of a child
The Child Tax Credits Regulations 2002, Regulation 4
A person is a child up to the day before their 16th birthday. After that date, the child becomes a qualifying young person up to and including the 31 August following their 16t h birthday. There is no requirement for the qualifying young person to satisfy the condition of being in full time non advanced education or approved training up to and including 31 August. However, during this period, they have to satisfy the other conditions relating to qualifying young people.
Note: Payment of Child Tax Credit ceases on 31 August unless HM Revenue & Customs are notified that their child continues to meet the qualifying young person conditions beyond that date. Where a claimant subsequently informs HM Revenue & Customs, before finalising their award, their child continued to meet the qualifying young person conditions from 01 September that element should be re-instated.
Example:
- A child turns 16 on 30 June, they may continue to meet the qualifying young person condition until the following 31 August. From the 1 September CTC is no longer paid for this young person but the claimant doesn’t realise payments ceased until February the following year when they inform HM Revenue and Customs their child continued in full time non-advanced education. As they continued to meet the qualifying young person conditions that element should be included in their award from 01 September.
Definition of a qualifying young person
The Child Tax Credits Regulations 2002, Regulation 5(1)-(4)
A person who:
- is not a child but is under the age of 19, or 20 where their course of education or approved training began before they reached 19 (see below), and
- is receiving ‘full-time education’ (see below for definition) that is
- not advanced, or
- education provided by their employment or any office held by them, or
- is undertaking or is enrolled and accepted for approved training that is not provided by a contract of employment
Or
- is not a child but is under the age of 18 and having ceased full time non advanced education or approved training they
- notify the Board they are registered for work or training with a ‘qualifying body' within 3 months of leaving full time non advanced education or approved training and
- it is not more than 20 weeks since the date of leaving full time non advanced education or approved training.
But a young person will cease to qualify for CTC even if that young person qualifies under the previous conditions where:
- having ceased full time non advanced education or approved training, they start remunerative work - that is work done in expectation of payment for 24 or more hours a week, or
- they receive Income Support, Income Related Employment and Support Allowance or Income Based Job Seeker’s Allowance in their own right.
A 19 year old
The Child Tax Credit (Amendment) Regulations 2006 Regulation 4
A person aged 19 or over on 16 August 2007 is not a qualifying young person, unless they were enrolled on or were accepted to undertake approved training or a course of full time non advanced education before they attained age 19.
Definition of disabled child or qualifying young person
The Child Tax Credits Regulations 2002, Regulation 8(2)
A child or young person where:
- Disability Living Allowance is payable in respect of them, or Disability Living Allowance has ceased only because the child or young person is a patient
Or who
- Is registered blind in a register compiled by a Local Authority or in Scotland or Northern Ireland, is certified as blind
Or who
- Ceased to be registered or certified blind within the 28 weeks before the date of claim.
Definition of severely disabled child or qualifying young person
The Child Tax Credits Regulations 2002, Regulation 8(3)
A child or young person where:
- Disability Living Allowance care component at the highest rate is payable in respect of them (or would be so payable but for suspension or hospitalisation)
Note: Throughout this manual the term “qualifying young person” may be abbreviated to “young person”.
