UK Child Benefit and the U.S. Child Tax Credit for American Families
If you are an American raising children in the UK, you deal with two systems at once, and if used well, they can both put money in your pocket. You can claim both the UK Child Benefit and the U.S. Child Tax Credit at the same time, because they come from two different governments and do not offset each other.
On the UK side, you can claim Child Benefit, worth £26.05 a week for your first child and £17.25 for each additional child in 2025/26, though a High Income Child Benefit Charge starts to claw it back once either parent’s income passes £60,000.
On the U.S. side, you can claim the Child Tax Credit of up to $2,200 per child, with up to $1,700 per child refundable, but only if you do not exclude all your income with the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Because UK tax is relatively high, many American families use the Foreign Tax Credit instead, which can turn the U.S. credit into an actual refund.
A few things to know as an American parent in the UK:
- UK Child Benefit pays £26.05 per week for your first child and £17.25 for each additional child.
- The High Income Child Benefit Charge claws it back between £60,000 and £80,000 of income.
- The U.S. Child Tax Credit is up to $2,200 per child, with up to $1,700 refundable.
- The FEIE can cancel your refund, so the choice between it and the Foreign Tax Credit matters.
Child Benefit is one of many things that shift when you raise a family abroad. Our guide to living in the UK as an American pulls the whole picture together. This guide covers how UK Child Benefit works, when the charge applies, and how to claim your U.S. Child Tax Credit as a refund.
Raising kids in the UK?
How UK Child Benefit Works for American Families
UK Child Benefit is a payment from HMRC for anyone responsible for a child under 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. Your immigration status does not stop you from claiming, as long as you have the right to reside and are responsible for the child.
| Child | Weekly rate (2025/26) | Roughly per year |
|---|---|---|
| Eldest or only child | £26.05 | £1,354.60 |
| Each additional child | £17.25 | £897.00 |
It is worth claiming even if a high income means the charge below will recover it, because registering credits you with National Insurance contributions that count toward your UK State Pension and gets your child a National Insurance number automatically at 16. You can claim the credit even if you choose not to receive the payments, which sidesteps the charge without giving up those benefits. For U.S. purposes, the UK Child Benefit is a modest government benefit and is generally not something American families owe U.S. tax on, though your preparer should confirm it against your full return.
The High Income Child Benefit Charge Can Claw It Back
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) reduces your Child Benefit once the higher earner in your household passes £60,000 of adjusted net income. The charge is 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 of income above £60,000, so it reaches 100% at £80,000.
| Higher earner’s income | How much Child Benefit you keep |
|---|---|
| £60,000 or below | All of it |
| £70,000 | About half |
| £80,000 or above | None, after the charge |
The charge is based on the higher of the two parents’ incomes, not your combined total, so two parents earning £55,000 each keep the full benefit while a single earner on £85,000 loses it. If the charge applies, you report and pay it through UK Self Assessment, or you can now ask HMRC to collect it through your tax code.
How the U.S. Child Tax Credit Works for Americans Abroad
Living in the UK does not stop you from claiming the U.S. Child Tax Credit. For 2026, the credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, and up to $1,700 of that per child is refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit, meaning it can come back to you as a payment even if you owe no U.S. tax.
The requirements that catch expat families most often:
- Each child needs a Social Security number valid for employment, issued before your filing deadline. A child with only an ITIN does not qualify.
- At least one parent must have a Social Security number.
- The child must be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident, which most children of American parents are.
This is one of the few parts of the U.S. tax code that pays American families abroad rather than taxing them, so it is worth setting up correctly. Our Child Tax Credit for expats guide covers the full mechanics, including Form 8812 and the earned-income floor.
Claiming Both Is Allowed, and Neither Reduces the Other
The two credits come from different governments and do not compete, so an American family in the UK can receive the UK Child Benefit and claim the U.S. Child Tax Credit in the same year. Claiming one has no effect on your eligibility for the other.
- UK Child Benefit does not reduce your U.S. credit. It is a UK payment, not U.S. taxable income for most families, and the IRS does not count it against the Child Tax Credit.
- The U.S. credit does not touch your UK Child Benefit. HMRC does not consider U.S. credits; the only thing that reduces your Child Benefit is the UK’s own High Income Child Benefit Charge, based on UK income.
- The one place they connect is your U.S. filing method. Whether you use the FEIE or the Foreign Tax Credit changes how much of the U.S. credit comes back to you as a refund.
The goal is not to choose between the two but to claim both, then set up your U.S. return so the Child Tax Credit stays refundable, which is where the next section comes in.
Why the FEIE Can Cost You the Refundable Child Tax Credit
Here is the trap that costs UK families real money. If you claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on Form 2555, you remove your earned income from your U.S. return, and the IRS then treats you as having no earned income to support the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit. Many parents qualify for the credit on paper but receive nothing back.
The Foreign Tax Credit works differently. It leaves your earned income on the return and offsets your U.S. tax with the UK tax you already paid. Your income still counts toward the refundable credit, so the Additional Child Tax Credit can come back to you. Because UK tax rates usually exceed U.S. rates, the Foreign Tax Credit often erases your U.S. tax anyway, which makes it the natural choice for families with children.
Switching between the two is a decision to make deliberately, since revoking the exclusion can lock you out of it for five years, and the right answer depends on your full income picture. Our guide to choosing the FEIE or the Foreign Tax Credit walks through how to model it for your situation.
A Real-World Example: The Bennett Family in Leeds
The Bennetts are an American family in Leeds with two children under 17. One parent earns £70,000, and the other stays home.
- UK Child Benefit: they claim £26.05 plus £17.25 per week, about £2,252 per year.
- The charge: because the higher earner is £10,000 over the threshold, the High Income Child Benefit Charge recovers about half of it, leaving them roughly £1,126 after they report it through Self Assessment.
- The U.S. side: they file using the Foreign Tax Credit rather than the FEIE, so their income stays on the return and supports the refundable credit.
- The refund: with two qualifying children, up to $3,400 of Child Tax Credit is refundable, and because UK tax has already offset their U.S. bill, much of that comes back as a payment.
The Bennetts keep part of their UK benefit and receive a U.S. refund, all from filing choices rather than anything unusual. The value was in claiming the Child Benefit despite the charge and choosing the Foreign Tax Credit over the exclusion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. They are separate benefits from two different governments, so claiming one does not reduce or disqualify the other. UK Child Benefit is not counted against your U.S. Child Tax Credit, and the U.S. credit has no effect on your UK Child Benefit. Most American families in the UK claim both.
Yes. As an American living in the UK with a right to reside and responsibility for a child, you can claim Child Benefit at £26.05 a week for your first child and £17.25 for each additional child. Your visa status does not disqualify you, though a high household income can trigger a charge that recovers it.
Generally no. UK Child Benefit is a modest government benefit, and for most American families, it is not treated as taxable income on a U.S. return. It also does not reduce your U.S. Child Tax Credit, so the two systems do not cancel each other out.
Yes. You can claim up to $2,200 per qualifying child, with up to $1,700 refundable, as long as each child has a Social Security number and meets the age and residency rules. Using the Foreign Tax Credit rather than the FEIE keeps the refundable portion available.
Usually, because they used the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Excluding all your earned income leaves nothing for the IRS to base the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit on, so the refund disappears. Switching to the Foreign Tax Credit often restores it.
The charge starts when the higher-earning parent’s adjusted net income passes £60,000, and it removes the benefit entirely at £80,000. It is based on one parent’s income, not the household total, and is reported through Self Assessment or collected through your tax code.
How Greenback Can Help
Raising a family across two tax systems means two sets of rules that interact in ways that are easy to miss, and the difference between getting them right and wrong can be thousands of dollars in credits. We prepare both your UK and U.S. returns together, so your Child Benefit, the charge, and your U.S. Child Tax Credit all line up on one account.
If you want your family’s UK and U.S. taxes handled by one team, our UK tax services pair a UK Chartered Accountant with a U.S. accountant on the same file. Learn more about how we help Americans living in the UK.
Get both your UK and U.S. returns handled by one team.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Child benefit rules, income thresholds, and credit amounts change and depend on your circumstances. Verify current figures on official UK and IRS sources and consult a qualified tax professional before acting.
