Are you a parent missing out on £27 a week? Here’s how to check

Thousands more parents will be able to get £27 a week by remembering to do some paperwork shortly after their baby is born.

Child allowance is an allowance that helps with the costs of raising children. It is currently worth £27.05 per week for the first child and £17.90 per week for each subsequent child.

Official data shows that the parents of almost a third of children eligible for child benefit do not claim before their baby’s first birthday.

Payments can only be backdated by three months, meaning some families could miss out on hundreds of pounds in the fog of new parenthood.

The annual release of the most popular baby names may serve as a reminder to some parents that there is other official paperwork to complete.

To benefit from child benefit, which is paid every four weeks, one of the parents must be make a claim, external. This parent will also receive National Insurance credit towards the state pension.

To make a claim, you need:

Child Benefit can be claimed 48 hours after the baby’s birth is registered, but can only be backdated up to three months from the date HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives the claim.

More than 6.8 million parents received child benefit by August 2025. HMRC data, external.

However, only 69 percent of them requested support before their baby’s first birthday; This means thousands of families may not receive what they are entitled to.

The tax agency said many may have chosen not to claim because of restrictions on high-income parents receiving benefits.

Under High Income Child Benefit Fee, externalPayments start to decrease if one parent earns £60,000 a year. Once one of you makes £80,000 they stop completely.