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When the parent registered to receive Child Benefit dies, the payments stop automatically. The surviving parent or guardian must make a new claim in their own name — Child Benefit does not transfer automatically. Contact HMRC’s Child Benefit Office as soon as possible to avoid a gap in payments.
Child Benefit is registered to one specific individual and does not pass automatically to another person when the claimant dies. For a surviving parent or guardian already dealing with bereavement, navigating HMRC’s Child Benefit processes is an additional burden — but acting promptly avoids unnecessary gaps in this important income. This guide explains each step clearly.
Child Benefit is registered to a named individual and does not transfer automatically on their death. You need to tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as possible — unless you have already used Tell Us Once, in which case GOV.UK says you do not need to tell them separately. There is a dedicated line for this: the HMRC Bereavement Helpline, 0300 322 9620, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, which deals only with reporting a death. Have your own name and National Insurance number, the deceased’s full name, date of birth, date of death and National Insurance number, and details of where the children are living and who is looking after them.
Once you report it, the Child Benefit Office cancels Child Benefit and any Guardian’s Allowance and writes to whoever is looking after the child within 20 days to confirm. Child Benefit stops from the Monday following the death.
The surviving parent, carer, or guardian who is now responsible for the child must make a new claim. You cannot simply “take over” the existing claim — a new application is required.
To make a new Child Benefit claim:
If you were the other parent and were already supporting the child, the claim can be made in your name from the date of the deceased’s death, with up to three months backdating. This means acting within three months is important to avoid losing any entitlement.
Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child.
A separate 8-week rule, easily confused with this one
The well-known “8 weeks” in Child Benefit is about the death of a child, not a parent: GOV.UK says you will usually get Child Benefit for 8 weeks after the child dies. Where the person entitled to it dies during that period and was living with a partner, the surviving partner is entitled to it for the rest of the period — but, as ever, they have to make a new claim (HMRC’s Child Benefit Technical Manual, CBTM09000). None of that gives a surviving parent 8 weeks of grace on their own claim.
Two different HMRC numbers
To report a death, call the HMRC Bereavement Helpline on 0300 322 9620, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. That line does nothing else. For everything else about a Child Benefit claim — eligibility, claiming, changing details — the general helpline is 0300 200 3100 (+44 161 210 3086 from outside the UK), Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, closed on bank holidays. You will need your National Insurance number, and HMRC will only discuss a claim with the claimant or an authorised representative.
Before registering a new Child Benefit claim, it is worth considering whether the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge (HICBC) applies to your situation. This charge was reformed from April 2024: it now begins when the higher earner in the household has adjusted net income of over £60,000 per year, rather than the previous £50,000 threshold.
Under the current rules:
Even if your income means the net benefit is zero or negative, it is generally advisable to claim Child Benefit and then pay back the charge through Self Assessment. This is because claiming — even if you immediately elect to stop receiving payments — protects your National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension. You can opt out of receiving payments while still registering the claim.
If the deceased parent had a HICBC liability in the year of their death, this will need to be settled through their final Self Assessment return. See our guide on filing a tax return for a deceased person for more information.
Guardian’s Allowance is an additional benefit for someone bringing up a child whose parents have died. It is paid on top of Child Benefit. GOV.UK opens with a qualification that is often dropped: “You could get Guardian’s Allowance if you’re bringing up a child whose parents have died. You may also be eligible if there’s one surviving parent.”
The rate is £22.95 a week per child. It is tax-free, does not count as income for Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA or income-related ESA, does not count towards the benefit cap, and is not affected by the High Income Child Benefit Charge — so if you decide not to be paid Child Benefit, Guardian’s Allowance can still continue.
To be eligible for Guardian’s Allowance:
Claim on form BG1 and send it to the Guardian’s Allowance Unit with the child’s full birth certificate and the parents’ death certificates (or the one certificate, where only one parent has died). GOV.UK says to send originals. Claim as soon as the child comes to live with you — Guardian’s Allowance backdates only 3 months — and claim Child Benefit as soon as possible too, since Guardian’s Allowance depends on qualifying for it.
Tax credits no longer exist. Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit ended on 5 April 2025 and no new claim can be made — anyone still on them has been moved to Universal Credit or Pension Credit. If you find older guidance telling you to ring a Tax Credits helpline about a death, it is out of date.
Child Benefit is not counted as income for Universal Credit, so claiming it does not reduce a Universal Credit award. The child element of Universal Credit is separate support and is unaffected by Child Benefit.
If the person who died was the named claimant on a Universal Credit claim that included a child element, contact DWP to report the death and to sort out a new claim.
In most cases, the change in circumstances — the death of a partner or other claimant — will also change your Universal Credit entitlement, so it is worth contacting the Universal Credit helpline (0800 328 5644) at the same time as dealing with Child Benefit.
Child Trust Funds (CTFs) were government-backed savings accounts set up for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. If the deceased parent was the “registered contact” for a CTF — the person responsible for managing the account on the child’s behalf — this role needs to be transferred.
It is important to understand that the CTF belongs to the child, not the registered contact. The money in the account is the child’s asset and does not form part of the deceased parent’s estate.
To become the new registered contact for a CTF after the previous registered contact has died:
Once you are the registered contact you can tell the provider how to run the account, change the account type or provider, and pay in — up to £9,000 a year. Note the two ages GOV.UK gives, which are different: the child can take control of the account at 16, and can take the money out at 18. If you do not know who the provider is, HMRC’s free tracing tool will tell you where the account was originally opened (not how much is in it), and GOV.UK says you will usually get the answer within 3 weeks of an online request.
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