UPDATE: |HMRC warns millions of parents claiming Child Benefit of major change News

Many people who are due benefit payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may see their benefits paid early this week

HMRC has warned parents claiming Child Benefit of a major payment date change happening this week. Parents who receive the benefit should check their payment dates as many may see an earlier payment.

Many people who are due benefit payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may see their benefits paid early this week.

This is because when a payment date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, payments for benefits, including Child Benefit, are usually sent out early.

Over the next week there are two bank holidays to mark the Easter period. These bank holiday dates will affect when payments are made.

The religious occasion marks two bank holidays and a four-day weekend for people across the UK, but Easter this year will be later than it was in 2024.

This year Good Friday will fall on April 18 and will be a bank holiday. Easter Sunday will be on April 20, and there will be another bank holiday on Monday, April 21 across the UK to celebrate the day – apart from in Scotland.

Child Benefit payments are usually made every four weeks, or weekly if you’re a single parent or you or your partner get certain benefits, according to gov.uk.

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Generally, if your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday you’ll usually be paid on the working day before, according to the website.

This means all Child Benefit payments due to be paid on Monday, 21 April will be made on Thursday, 17 April instead. Payments due to be made on Friday, April 19 will also likely be paid on the Thursday too.

As Child Benefit is always paid on a Monday or Tuesday, payments will be different for many people this week.

To calculate if your benefits are due on bank holiday Monday – and so will be paid earlier – you can figure out your next payment date by counting four weeks forward from your last payment date and seeing when it falls.

If your benefit payment date is affected you will automatically be paid on Thursday instead and you will not need to do anything to receive your payment.

The amount you’re due to be paid will also remain the same unless your personal circumstances have changed, and your payment date will go back to normal following the bank holiday.

The change comes after millions of people who receive welfare benefits saw their payments increase earlier this month at the start of the new tax year.