What is Guardian's Allowance and who can claim it in the UK?

Full answer

Guardian's Allowance helps people who are raising a child because the child's parents have died. It is administered by HMRC and paid in addition to Child Benefit, not instead of it. You do not have to be the child's legal guardian, but you must be bringing the child up as your own, and you (or your partner) must usually be entitled to Child Benefit for that child. The payment is tax-free and does not count as income for Income Tax. The exact weekly rate is set by the government and uprated periodically; this rate card does not include the precise figure, so check the current amount on gov.uk before relying on it. In most cases both of the child's parents must have died. You may still qualify if only one parent has died, provided the surviving parent is untraceable, is serving a long prison sentence, or (in limited circumstances) the parents were not married and the surviving parent's whereabouts are unknown. Who it affects: grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends or step-parents who take in a bereaved child. There is no requirement that the child be formally adopted - in fact, if you legally adopt the child you can no longer claim Guardian's Allowance, because adoption makes you the legal parent. Worked context: because the allowance is paid alongside Child Benefit, your overall family finances may also be affected by the High Income Child Benefit Charge if you or your partner have higher earnings - use an income-tax or take-home calculator to see how that interacts with your salary. Claims are backdated up to three months, so apply promptly. Keep the child's birth and parents' death certificates ready, as HMRC needs them to process the claim.

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