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Child Benefit - other benefits you might qualify for

If you're a parent and you get Child Benefit, or you are expecting a baby, you may be able to get other benefits and financial help.

Tax credits

Tax credits are payments from the government to help you with your everyday costs.

The amount of tax credit you get depends on things like:

  • how many children you have living with you
  • whether you work - and how many hours you work
  • if you pay for childcare
  • if you have - or any child living with you has - a disability
  • if you're aged 50 or over and are coming off benefits

Your payments also depend on your income. The lower your income, the more tax credit you can get.

You don't have to get Child Benefit to qualify for tax credits.

Child Trust Fund

The Child Trust Fund is a long-term tax-free savings account, for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011.

If your child was born between these dates, they may be entitled to at least £50 to open a Child Trust Fund account. Children born on or after 3 January 2011 don’t get any payments.

To qualify you usually need to have been paid Child Benefit for at least one day before 4 January 2011. There are some exceptions to this, for example, if you get a European family benefit or if your child is looked after by a local authority.

Free school meals and transport

Your children could get free school meals if you get an income-based benefit (for example Income Support), or Child Tax Credit only. You can sometimes qualify if you get Working Tax Credit as well. But it depends on the income your tax credits have been worked out on, and where you live in the UK.

Your child could get free school transport, for example if you're on a low income. But it's important to know that the rules are different depending on where you live in the UK.

It's worth checking the rules for your area with your local authority, or Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland.

Maternity Allowance

You could be eligible for Maternity Allowance if you have been earning on average £30 per week or more and one of the following applies:

  • you're employed, but you can't get Statutory Maternity Pay
  • you're self-employed and you pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions

You don't have to get Child Benefit to qualify for Maternity Allowance.

Help with health costs

Most National Health Service (NHS) treatment is free - including Health Service (HS) treatment in Northern Ireland. But there can be charges for some things. You and your family could get help with certain NHS or HS health costs.

The help you could get includes:

  • free NHS/HS prescriptions, dental treatment, wigs, fabric supports and eyesight tests
  • vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses
  • help with the cost of travel for NHS/HS treatment on referral by a doctor or dentist

You don’t have to be getting Child Benefit to get this help, but there are other conditions that apply.

It’s worth knowing that NHS or HS prescriptions are free to everyone in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

You get tax credits

If you are getting tax credits because you are on a low income, you could get help with your health costs. If you qualify, you will automatically get a Tax Credit Exemption Certificate in the post. You can find out more about Tax Credit Exemption Certificates from the Tax Credit Exemption Office on Tel 0845 609 9299. If you use a textphone, dial 18001 before this number to use the Text Relay service.

You get an income-based benefit

You can get help with health costs if you get an income-based benefit. Examples are Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance. You’ll need to have proof of your benefit.

To claim this help, fill in the back of your prescription form, or tell your dentist or optician when you go for treatment. To claim help for the cost of travel for NHS treatment, or for wigs and fabric supports, tell the hospital and show them proof of your benefit.

You’re on a low income but you don’t get tax credits - or income-based benefits

If you don’t get tax credits or an income-based benefit, you might still be able to get help with your health costs under one of the low income schemes.

Income Support

If you can't work full time and you haven't got enough money to live on, you may be able to get Income Support.

Whether you can get Income Support - and how much you can get - depends on things like your situation, income and savings.

You don't have to get Child Benefit to qualify for Income Support.

Healthy Start

The Healthy Start scheme provides:

  • free vitamin supplements without a prescription
  • weekly vouchers that you can put towards the cost of milk, fresh or plain frozen fruit and vegetables or infant formula milk

You will qualify if you are at least ten weeks pregnant, or have a child under four, and one of the following applies to you:

  • you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • you get Child Tax Credit, with a family income of £16,190 a year or less

You won’t qualify if you also get Working Tax Credit. The exception is if it's just the four week extension of your payments (often called a 'run-on') after you stopped qualifying. An example of this is if you've stopped work or reduced your hours.

If you qualify for Healthy Start through Child Tax Credit, you’ll automatically get an application form in the post. But you don’t need to wait, you can get one yourself - follow the link below.

If you are pregnant and under the age of 18 you will automatically qualify, whether or not you get Child Tax Credit or other benefits.

You don't have to get Child Benefit to qualify for Healthy Start.

Sure Start Maternity Grant

If you’re on a low income and getting certain benefits or tax credits, you could get a Sure Start Maternity Grant. This is a one-off payment to help towards the cost of maternity and baby items. The grant is tax-free and you don’t have to repay it.

The grant is £500 paid as a lump sum. If you've had twins or triplets for example, you can get £500 for each baby.

In Great Britain you can't normally get the grant if you've already got other children under 16.

In Northern Ireland you can get £500 for each baby - even if you've already got other children.

You may still qualify even if you're not the mother or expectant mother of the baby - for example if you're adopting a baby.

It's important to know that there are time limits for claiming the grant.

You don't have to get Child Benefit to qualify for the grant.

Widowed Parent's Allowance

You may be eligible for the Widowed Parent's Allowance if you're bringing up a child or young person and your husband, wife or civil partner dies. If you're eligible, you can get this weekly payment no matter how much income you've got.

But it could affect some other benefits you get.

Guardian's Allowance

If both of a child's parents die (or, sometimes, just one), their guardian may be able to get Guardian's Allowance. It's a tax-free weekly payment to help with the cost of bringing up a child.

You don't need to be the child's legal guardian, but you do need to be getting Child Benefit for them.

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