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Try to decide who gets Child Benefit

If you're responsible for a child you can claim Child Benefit. But there may be someone else who pays towards the cost of looking after the child and they also want to claim.

For example, if your child:

• lives with a relative but you pay for their upkeep
• lives with you but your partner who doesn't live with you pays towards looking after them
• spends part of the week with you and part with someone else

If both you and another person want to claim Child Benefit it's best if you sort out between you who should claim.

Normally Child Benefit is paid to the person the child lives with. A child normally lives with you even if they're away for a short while. This is as long as that's not more than 56 days in any 16 week period.

• Child Benefit if your child lives with someone else

If you or your partner aren't working or work part-time

You - or your partner - may not work enough hours to pay full National Insurance contributions.

So it could be better if that person claims Child Benefit because this can help protect their entitlement to the State Pension.

• How claiming Child Benefit can protect your State Pension

You're already getting Child Benefit and someone else claims for the same child

You might already be getting Child Benefit and someone else decides to claim too. For example:

• your child lives with a relative and that relative decides to claim
• your child lives with you and another person starts to pay towards the upkeep of the child

In some cases you won't know about this other claim until the Child Benefit Office tells you they have received it. They won't be able to tell you who has made the claim. But if you know that someone else has applied for Child Benefit, try to decide between yourselves who should get the payment.

If you decide that you don't want to carry on with your claim, let the Child Benefit Office know as soon as possible. You can let them know online by using the link below, or you can call the Child Benefit Helpline.

• Contact the Child Benefit Helpline

• Tell the Child Benefit Office online that you don’t want to carry on with your claim Opens new window

If you can't decide who gets the payment and both of you still want to claim, the Child Benefit Office will decide who to pay. If they decide that someone else will get the Child Benefit, your payments will stop.

If you can't decide who should get Child Benefit

If you and the other person have both made a claim, you might not be able to decide between you who should get Child Benefit. In this case, the Child Benefit Office may have to decide who to pay it to. They will contact you for further information.

The decision on who'll get Child Benefit won't necessarily be the same for tax credits - if you're getting them.

If you think the Child Benefit Office's decision is wrong

If you disagree about who should get the payment, you can ask the Child Benefit Office for an explanation of how they reached their decision.

• Problems with your Child Benefit - where to start

Changing your mind about who gets Child Benefit

If you want someone else to claim Child Benefit, for example to help protect their pension, you'll need to tell the Child Benefit Office that:

• you want to stop getting Child Benefit
• you want someone else to get it instead - that person will need to make a new claim to Child Benefit
  

If you change your mind again later you can make another claim for Child Benefit.

• How claiming Child Benefit can protect your State Pension

• Contact the Child Benefit Office

• Tell the Child Benefit Office online that you want to stop getting Child Benefit Opens new window

If your circumstances have changed

You must tell the Child Benefit Office straight away if your circumstances change, for example if your child goes to live with someone else.

• Child Benefit - which changes you need to report

More useful links

• Child Benefit - do you qualify?

• How to claim Child Benefit

• You have children - can you get tax credits for them?

Useful contacts

• Child Benefit Office