Thousands of parents face having their child benefit payments stopped unless they take action this week to make sure the payments continue.

People with children aged between 16 and 19 who are continuing in full-time education must inform HMRC before August 31 or they could risk losing out on payments.

The rule applies to anyone with children who turned 16 this year or will do before the end of August.

Families who miss the upcoming deadline will see their benefit payments stopped automatically.

The Child Benefit payments are worth £21.80 per week for the eldest child and £14.45 per week for younger children.

It means parents could miss out on as much as £1,100 next year or £3,400 over three years if they fail to notify HMRC.

How to notify HMRC your child is remaining in full-time education

Updating your records with HMRC is an easy process and can be done online via the government website.

If you have been issued a 297b form by HMRC it is also possible to return this.

The Sun reports around 1.3 million families received letters earlier this year urging them to get in touch if their child is continuing in Full-Time Non-Advanced Education (FTNAE).

So far, just 600,000 have replied.

Child Benefit payments 2022

You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is:

It’s paid every 4 weeks and there’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

More information can be found on the government website.