Child Benefit £27.05, Guardian’s £22.95 from 6 Apr 2026

From Monday 6 April 2026, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance go up across the UK. The change is set out in the Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Order 2026, signed by HM Treasury on 3 March and approved by both Houses of Parliament. If you’re budgeting for the new tax year, here’s what the new amounts mean and how the law updates them.

The weekly Child Benefit ‘enhanced rate’ for your eldest or only child rises from £26.05 to £27.05. For each additional child, the weekly rate moves from £17.25 to £17.90. Guardian’s Allowance increases from £22.10 to £22.95. These are weekly figures and take legal effect from 6 April 2026, the first Monday of the 2026–27 tax year, as confirmed on legislation.gov.uk.

Child Benefit is a regular payment to help with the cost of raising children. You can usually claim if you’re responsible for a child or young person, with age and education rules set by HMRC. If you or a partner has a high income you may need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge; the new Order doesn’t change those rules.

Guardian’s Allowance supports people bringing up a child whose parents have died in most cases. It is paid on top of Child Benefit for that child. The Order confirms the new weekly rate at £22.95 from April, with matching provision for Northern Ireland so families there see the same uplift.

Why are rates changing now? Each year ministers must review benefits against prices under section 150 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The Treasury’s latest review found prices higher at the end of 2025–26 than at the start, so rates are uprated for 2026–27. The note on legislation.gov.uk makes clear this is a routine inflation update rather than a redesign of the system.

Keep the dates handy. The instrument was made on 3 March 2026 and comes into force on 6 April 2026. Because that’s the first Monday of the new tax year, most people will see the higher rate from their first scheduled payment after that date.

Here’s what that looks like in real numbers. A single-child claim now pays £27.05 a week, roughly £1,406.60 over 52 weeks. A claim for two children becomes £44.95 a week, roughly £2,337.40 a year. Versus last year, that’s an extra £1.00 a week for the eldest or only child and £0.65 a week for each additional child, with Guardian’s Allowance up by £0.85 a week.

How you’re paid doesn’t change. Child Benefit is usually paid every four weeks, with some families on weekly schedules depending on circumstances, and HMRC applies the new rates automatically. If your details have changed, update them so the higher amount reaches you from the first payment due after 6 April.

The Order only changes amounts. It does not alter who can claim, how to start a claim, or the High Income Child Benefit Charge. If you’re setting up a new claim this spring, you can apply in the normal way; the new rates will apply automatically from April.

Study note for learners: a Statutory Instrument is secondary legislation. Parliament sets the powers in an Act-in this case the Social Security Administration Act 1992-and ministers use an SI to update technical items like benefit rates and dates. That’s why this measure has a precise title and number: S.I. 2026/232 recorded on legislation.gov.uk.