As well as the Child Trust Fund (CTF) voucher, children in families with lower incomes will automatically get an additional payment of £250 from the Government once a CTC award has been finalised. This will be paid directly into the accounts of children who live in families receiving Child Tax Credit (CTC), where household income is not greater than the CTC threshold of £16,040 for 2009/10 or where the person in receipt of CTC was also in receipt of
- income support
- income-based jobseeker's allowance
- pension credit, or
- employment and support allowance
Where Child Benefit was first paid for your child on, or after 6 April 2008 you must claim CTC no later than the date your CTF voucher expires. Make sure you don't leave it too late! Where Child Benefit was first paid for your child before 6 April 2008, a CTC award must be in place for the time at which child benefit was awarded.
For previous years' CTC thresholds use this link
If your CTC claim is finalised before your child’s CTF account is opened, any additional amount due will be paid into the account after it is opened.
The additional payment isn't paid until the CTC claim is finalised. This is because CTC depends on your actual income in a tax year (6 April in one calendar year to 5 April in the next), even though it is paid throughout the year based on your estimated earnings. Once you have given HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) details of your actual income for the year, and your CTC award is finalised, HMRC will make the payment to your child’s account.
To give you an example of how this will work: if you start claiming CTC for the first time on 6 April you won't be able to finalise your claim until after the following 5 April and will have to wait over 12 months before the extra £250 is paid into your child’s account. But if you started claiming CTC on 6 February, you may only have to wait a few months before receiving the additional payment.
HMRC will write to let you know that this payment has been made.
There are also some people who are claiming other benefits and have not moved to CTC. Don’t worry if you are in this group. Your child will still be eligible for the extra £250 if you were receiving the child element for them in:
- income support, or
- income-based jobseeker's allowance
Like for CTC claimants, where Child Benefit was first paid for your child on, or after 6 April 2008 you must claim income support or jobseeker’s allowance no later than the date your CTF voucher expires. And where Child Benefit was first paid for your child before 6 April 2008, income support or jobseeker’s allowance must have been paid for the time at which child benefit was awarded.
Qualifying for the Age 7 additional payment
As well as the £250 Age 7 payment, children in families with lower incomes will automatically get an additional payment of £250 from the Government once a CTC award has been finalised. This will be paid directly into the accounts of children who live in families receiving CTC, where household income is not greater than the CTC threshold of £16,040 for 2009/10 or where the person in receipt of CTC was also in receipt of
- income support
- income-based jobseeker's allowance
- pension credit, or
- employment and support allowance
The additional payment isn't paid until the CTC claim for the tax year in which your child’s 7th birthday fell is finalised. This is because CTC depends on your actual income in a tax year (6 April in one calendar year to 5 April in the next), even though it is paid throughout the year based on your estimated earnings. Once you have given HMRC details of your actual income for the year, and your CTC award is finalised, HMRC will make the payment to your child’s account.
HMRC will write to let you know that this payment has been made.
There are also some people who are claiming other benefits and have not moved to CTC. Don’t worry if you are in this group. Your child will still be eligible for the extra £250 if you were receiving the child element for them in:
- income support, or
- income-based jobseeker's allowance
More information
More about Tax Credits on the HM Revenue & Customs website
Children born between 1 September 2002 and 5 April 2005
FAQ
Further information about what you will get
