Child Benefit is rising in 2026: what families will get and how to make the most of it

Parents and carers will get a small boost to Child Benefit from April 2026. This guide explains how much it’s going up and how to make the most of it.

It won’t fix the weekly shop or make childcare suddenly cheap, but it will put a little more money back in your pocket, and when every bill feels heavier than it used to, small wins matter.

HMRC has now confirmed exactly how much the payments will go up by, following the Autumn Budget. The increases are based on the 3.8% inflation figure for September 2025.

Here’s what the new rates look like and how to stretch the money further.

New Child Benefit rates from April 2026

From April 2026, you’ll get:

• £27.05 a week for your eldest or only child
• £17.90 a week for every other child

Paid every four weeks, this works out as:

• £108.20 for one child
• £179.80 for two children
• £251.40 for three children
• £323 for four children

Guardian’s Allowance is rising too, from £22.10 to £22.95 a week.

There’s no limit on how many children you can claim Child Benefit for. That rule has never changed.

What this means for your household budget

Let’s be honest: it’s not a huge jump.

A family with two children will see roughly £145 extra across a full year. That might be:

• School shoes
• After-school snacks
• Bus fares
• A top-up for the uniform pot

It’s not life-changing money, but when everything costs more than it did even a year ago, it helps.

Why it’s worth claiming Child Benefit even if you think you don’t need it

Some parents skip the claim because the rules feel confusing, or because one person in the household earns more. There’s around £1.4 billion in unclaimed funds!

But claiming it helps in two big ways:

1. It protects your State Pension

Child Benefit gives you National Insurance credits while you’re looking after young children. If you don’t claim, you might lose these credits without realising.

2. You can claim it even if you need to pay some back

If someone earns over £60,000, the High Income Child Benefit Charge might reduce the amount you keep, but you can still claim and choose whether to receive payments or just get the credits.

A reminder about Tax-Free Childcare

(And why many families aren’t using it)

Alongside Child Benefit, HMRC is also nudging parents to use Tax-Free Childcare. Lots of families miss out because the name sounds complicated, but it’s actually very simple.

Here’s how it works:

• For every £8 you put in, the Government adds £2
• You can get up to £500 every three months per child
• Or £1,000 every three months if your child is disabled
• It takes roughly 20 minutes to set up
• You can use it for nurseries, after-school clubs, wraparound care and holiday clubs

HMRC says families received over £57 million in top-ups in a single month last year, and the average household got over £100 toward childcare.

You’re usually eligible if:

• Your child is 11 or under (or up to 16 if disabled)
• You each earn at least the National Minimum Wage for 16 hours a week
• You earn under £100,000 each
• You’re not using Universal Credit or childcare vouchers at the same time

If you’re paying nursery or club fees without this, you may be missing out on hundreds of pounds a year.

What about the two-child limit being scrapped?

You may have seen heated arguments online about the two child limit being removed.

A quick, clear explanation:

• The two child limit was a rule inside Universal Credit, not Child Benefit
• It meant you only got money for your first two children in UC unless you met specific exemptions
• Child Benefit has always paid for every child
• From April 2026, the two-child limit in UC will end (this is Government policy, announced separately)
• The change is expected to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, according to anti-poverty charities and official modelling

This doesn’t affect the Child Benefit increase, but some families will get two boosts at once in 2026: higher Child Benefit and a fairer Universal Credit payment.

Simple steps to take now

Check your claim

If you’ve had a baby and never filled in the Child Benefit form, do it now. It can be backdated a little, but not forever.

Use the new rates in your budget

Even a few pounds a week can help smooth over those pinch points – school trips, packed-lunch bits, or topping up the savings pot.

Look at Tax-Free Childcare

If you’re eligible and not using it, this one change can put serious money back in your pocket across the year.

If you’re a higher earner, check the rules

You might still be better off claiming, even if you later pay some back.

Final word

From April 2026, Child Benefit will rise in line with inflation. It’s not a huge increase, but it’s steady, reliable support at a time when everything from food to fuel feels like it’s going in the wrong direction.

If you pair the new rates with any childcare savings you can get – and make sure you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to – your budget will hopefully feel a little less stretched.