Tax credits/Child Benefit query-Young Person

richpoortyke

I wondered if someone could help me clear this up for a friend.
Her daughter (19 in the summer) is currently F/T at college and is to continue at college for another year starting September.
Would she be able to claim Child Benefit and Child Tax Creits for the extra year she is in education. She has spoken to Child Benefit Office who believe that unless she has enrolled for a course when she was still 18 (which she wont be by August/September she wont be eligible for Child Benefit but from what i have read about Child Tax Credits you can claim up until the 20th birthday if in Full Time Education. But i thought you needed child benefit to claim Tax Credits.

Any ideas?

Also will she be able to claim the ALG if it still exists.

Thanks for any help

Oldernotwiser

She will be able to claim CB and CTC until the daughter's 20th birthday and the daughter will be able to claim ALG.

munchings-n-crunchings

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

She will be able to claim CB and CTC until the daughter's 20th birthday and the daughter will be able to claim ALG.

Not quite right.

As the OP has been informed, the young person needs to be enrolled on the course prior to their 19th birthday, for CB and CTC to be paid until their 20th birthday.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/keep-up-to-date/when-child-aged-16/child-16.htm#2

Read the section headed if your child goes into full time education or training.
If your child goes into full time education or training

We can carry on paying Child Benefit up until the age of 20 if your child goes into relevant education or training. Your child would need to have either been accepted, enrolled or started on the course before the age of 19.

Child Tax credit have the same rules.

So if the course is a 2 or 3 year course, and she is continuing, then the benefit would carry on, but not if it's additional courses.

For ALG, the course of study would need to be the first full time level 2 or level 3 qualification.

Regards
Munchie

Oldernotwiser

Your link doesn't work, by the way.

Sorry, I assumed that that this was a continuing course and, of course, you're right about the conditions for claiming ALG.