Child Benefit

[RAG1]

Can anyone advise as to when child benefit stops for your eldest child. My eldest is off to uni next week and I have received money for her throughtout her sixth form years. Recently I was told that this will continue until the eve of her 19th birthday. Is this correct?

her

No. You should get a letter from the Child Benefit Agency any day now asking you to state whether she has now left school.

Have a look at the Direct Gov web site.

go to www.hmrc.gov.uk and search for child benefit.

Child benefit is paid while children are still in non-advanced education.
'Non-advanced' education includes the following:

?GCSEs
?A levels
?NVQ/SVQ level 1, 2 or 3
?BTEC National Diploma, National Certificate and 1st Diploma
?SCE higher grade or similar

So it should have stopped when she left six form.

I am very worried about the child benefit cuts. I have four children and am a stay at home mum. My husband is just above the threshold so we are going to lose out. We are also going to lose our tax credits which together make about £300.00 per month. I rely on this money and don't know how I am going to cope without it. It doesn't pay me to go back to work because of childcare costs, so what do I do? It seems so unfair that because my husband works hard to provide for our family we are being punished.
I don't understand why they do not revise the threshold to a figure more realistic and on a combined income.

The CB change doesn't come in until 2013 so you've got 2 - 3 years to plan for the adjustment. It could be that by then more of your children are in full-time school, for example, and that you can find a part-time job that makes up the shortfall without resulting in child-care costs.

The CTC change happens earlier (January), but if your husband is on a high income, then you would only be receiving the minimum pay out anyway. In the meantime, like all of us, you'll have to budget very carefully, delay the purchase of larger items & make savings wherever you can. Good luck

becca4420 The reason they're doing the CB change in this way is that it is easy to administer (and therefore cheap). To base it on a means-test is expensive.