Child Tax Credit Calculator UK 2025/26

No. New Child Tax Credit claims have been closed since 2 February 2019. New claimants must use Universal Credit instead. Existing CTC claimants who have not yet been migrated can continue to claim CTC. HMRC is completing the managed migration of all remaining legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit.

CTC rates for 2025/26: Family element £545/year (paid if you have at least one child and income is under £17,005). Child element £3,455/year per child. Disabled child element £3,905/year per disabled child. Severely disabled child addition £1,573/year per severely disabled child. These are annual amounts; CTC is usually paid weekly.

CTC is reduced if your household income exceeds £17,005. For every £1 above this threshold, CTC reduces by 41p. For example, household income of £25,000 = excess of £7,995 × 0.41 = £3,278 reduction. The family element has its own income threshold — it's reduced only when the child element is exhausted.

Since April 2017, the child element is paid for a maximum of 2 children born on or after 6 April 2017. Children born before this date are exempt. There are exceptions for multiple births (twins/triplets where the third+ child is born in the same pregnancy as the second), adoption, and non-consensual conception.

HMRC is completing managed migration of all legacy benefit claimants (including CTC) to Universal Credit. You will receive a migration notice giving you 3 months to claim UC. If you are currently on CTC, do not claim UC voluntarily before receiving a migration notice — you may lose transitional protection. Check your migration notice date carefully.

When migrated to UC, you receive a transitional element if your UC entitlement would be less than your legacy benefit. The transitional element protects your income at the point of migration. It erodes over time if your UC rises due to circumstances changes. It disappears entirely if you stop claiming UC or have a qualifying change of circumstances.

Receiving DLA for a child may entitle you to the disabled child element (£3,905/year) or severely disabled child addition (£1,573/year) in CTC. The DLA care component must be at any rate for the disabled child element; the highest care component and enhanced mobility component for the severely disabled addition.

CTC can be backdated up to 1 month from your date of claim (31 days). For renewals, backdating is not applicable. If you became entitled due to a change of circumstances (e.g. new child), inform HMRC within 1 month to maximise backdating. Failure to notify HMRC of changes can result in overpayments that must be repaid.

Household income is your total gross income from all sources: employment, self-employment, investment income, pension income, rental income, and most benefits (except Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, and some others). Use your actual current year income or last year's income — HMRC normally uses last year's figure and adjusts at renewal.

HMRC will ask you to repay overpaid CTC. If caused by their error and it would be unfair to repay, you can challenge under 'official error' rules. Otherwise, overpayments are recovered via reduced future payments or by direct recovery. Contact HMRC if you cannot afford repayment — they can spread recovery over a longer period.

HMRC sends renewal packs between April and June each year. You must confirm your circumstances (income, family, working hours) by 31 July. Failure to renew results in payments stopping and a possible overpayment. Online renewal is available via GOV.UK. If your circumstances have not changed, you may receive an 'auto-renewal' requiring no action.

Unlike Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit is not affected by savings or capital assets. There is no capital limit for CTC. This is a significant difference from UC, where savings over £6,000 reduce the award and savings over £16,000 disqualify you entirely. Some families on CTC with significant savings may want to consider the impact of UC migration carefully.