HMRC are contacting parents who had a new baby from April this year and applied for Child Benefit without being able to register the birth.

COVID-19 restrictions

During the COVID-19 crisis many local authorities were not able to offer the full services of their Registration Offices. Also, many parents of newborns were unable to travel to their registration office, due to shielding, self-isolation or tier restrictions.

HMRC have done their best to support families financially, and allowed a Child Benefit claim for newborns to start without the usually mandatory birth registration.

What’s changed?

HMRC are now catching up on their paperwork and clamping down on any defrauding of their Coronavirus policies. They are contacting anyone who claimed Child Benefit for an unregistered baby since April. If this is you and you still haven’t registered your baby’s birth, for whatever reason, look out for an SMS message or letter from HMRC.

You’re not in trouble, it’s a reminder to make an appointment with your local Registry Office to register the birth now. They need to check that all the claims are legitimate. And you need to comply, if you want your Child Benefit payments to continue.

If you can’t get to your Registry Office at the moment, don’t just ignore HMRC. Give them a call, let them know why, and that you’ll get there as soon as possible.

As reported in the Daily Record HMRC’s, Interim Director General for Customer Services, Karl Khan, said: “It’s really encouraging to see that parents have taken advantage of the change we put in place earlier this year to help ensure they can claim the financial support they’re entitled to. It is now crucial for parents who claimed Child Benefit without registering their child’s birth to do it now so that they continue to receive their benefit.”

How much is Child Benefit?

Since April 6th 2020, Child Benefit payments rose to £21.05 per week for your first child and £13.95 per week for every other child you have after that.

For a first child you need to download, print and complete form CH2 and send it to the Child Benefit Office. If you’re doing this without a birth registration certificate because for COVID-19, you need to include a note explaining this.

If you’re already a Child Benefit claimant, you can add your new bundle of joy by phoning 0300 200 3100. You’ll need your Child Benefit number or National Insurance number, as well as the little one’s details. Or you can fill in the correct form and send it in.

Backdated Child Benefit claims are only allowed for up to three months. So don’t’ wait too long to claim or you’ll miss out on some of your money.