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If you are expecting a child you can find out your entitlement when they
are born by including them in the number of children you have. We will ask
about their date of birth later in the calculator.
If you can claim Child Benefit for a child then you should include them in the
number of children that you enter. For official information on Child Benefit
see the Child Benefit section of HM Revenue and Customs website.
If you are in doubt see below for more information about:
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children between 16 and 20
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shared custody
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care and adoption
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rules in Income Support/Jobseeker’s Allowance and Pension Credit
Children between 16 and 20
From 6th April 2006 Child Benefit is paid for young people aged 16, 17,18 and 19 if they count as a Qualifying Young Person.
The rules for entitlement to Child Tax Credit are the same as for Child Benefit - anyone who counts as a Qualifying Young Person is eligible for inclusion in a
claim for Child Benefit and for Child Tax Credit.
A Qualifying Young Person is someone who is:
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16 years old until 31 August following their 16th birthday, or
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in full-time further education, or
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in approved training, or
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aged 16 or 17 and registered for further education
The definition of Qualifying Young Person includes not just young people receiving full-time education but also those receiving approved training under
unwaged work-based training programmes.
The maximum upper age limit to be counted as a Qualifying Young Person is 20.
This is to enable support to continue for a young person who is already on a training course, either until they finish their course of education or training
or they reach the age of 20, whichever is sooner. Young people in Higher
Education do not count as a Qualifying Young Person.
Shared custody
If you share custody of a child it is the person with 'main responsibility' who
is eligible to claim Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit. In deciding who has
main responsibility for a child the number of days the child lives with you is
important, but this is not the only factor that HM Revenue and Customs
consider. Only one family can make a claim for each child.
Care and adoption
If you have a child who is in care, or if you are caring for or adopting a
child, then you should only include that child if you are eligible to receive
Child Benefit for them. If you are unsure you should check with HM Revenue and
Customs to see how the rules affect you.
Rules in Income Support/Jobseeker’s Allowance and Pension Credit
People claiming Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based) after
April 2004 have additional amounts paid for qualifying children through Child
Tax Credit. For more information please see
Additions for children in Income Support/Jobseeker’s Allowance.
There are no additions in Pension Credit for children. However, income from
Child Tax Credit, Child Benefit and child-related additions to benefits is
ignored completely when calculating entitlement to Pension Credit.
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