By 
Family law guide
Part of: Grandparents Rights
The grandparents childcare credit is the everyday name for Specified Adult Childcare credits. These are National Insurance credits for a grandparent or close relative who looks after a child under 12. The parent who gets Child Benefit already earns a weekly credit. If they do not need it, they can pass it to you. Each week of care can then count towards your State Pension.
It matters most if you cut your hours or stopped work early to help with the children. Those years often leave gaps in a National Insurance record. You claim on form CA9176, which the parent countersigns, and you can go back to 6 April 2011. After a separation, the question becomes whose signature you need. When a grandchild moves in with you, Child Benefit and the legal position both need a fresh look.
Key takeaways
- A parent getting Child Benefit for a child under 12 earns a Class 3 credit each week (Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, s.23A). This credit can move to the relative who does the caring.
- Grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters can claim. So can a mother or father who does not live with the child (HMRC guidance).
- You must be 16 or over and under State Pension age while you give the care. The parent must not need the credit themselves.
- You must wait until 31 October after the end of a tax year to claim for it on form CA9176. Claims go back to 6 April 2011.
- If the child lives with you, you may be able to claim Child Benefit yourself. That is also the point to think about a court order.
Looking after a grandchild and unsure where you stand? You can book a free initial consultation with one of our specialists.
What is the grandparents childcare credit?
It is a National Insurance credit that moves from the parent who gets Child Benefit to the relative caring for the child. You get one Class 3 credit for each week, or part of a week, of care (HMRC guidance).
The credit is not a payment, and nobody sends you money. Its value sits in your National Insurance record. A year with enough contributions or credits is a qualifying year. Qualifying years decide how much State Pension you get. Think of a grandmother who left work at 58 to do the school run. Those are the years most likely to be missing from her record.
There is only one credit for each Child Benefit claim, however many children are on it. If you and your partner both look after your daughter’s children, the person who gets Child Benefit for them decides which of you has the credit. Looking after your daughter’s child and your son’s child is different. There are usually two Child Benefit claims, so two credits can be passed on. If nobody claims Child Benefit for the child, there is no credit to transfer.
Who qualifies for the grandparents childcare credit?
You qualify if you are a listed family member aged 16 or over and under State Pension age at the time. The child must have been under 12, and their parent must get Child Benefit but not need the credit. You must also be ordinarily resident in the UK. For this purpose the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man do not count.
Which relatives can claim the childcare credit besides grandparents?
HMRC’s list goes further than grandparents. It includes:
- a mother or father who does not live with the child
- a great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent
- an aunt or uncle
- a brother or sister, including half, step and adopted siblings
- the current or former spouse, partner or civil partner of anyone listed, and their son or daughter
A family friend or a neighbour cannot claim, however much care they give.
What does the parent need to have?
The parent or main carer must have claimed Child Benefit and must not need the credit. In practice that usually means they work and already have a qualifying year. A parent registered for Child Benefit still gets the credit if they chose not to take the payments (GOV.UK). So the credit can still be passed on.
Do not apply for a tax year that is already a qualifying year for you, usually because you worked or got other credits. The same goes for any period when you get Child Benefit yourself and already receive credits automatically. A spouse or partner living with the person who gets Child Benefit uses a different form, CF411A.
How do you claim Specified Adult Childcare credits on form CA9176?
You fill in form CA9176 online, print it and sign it. The parent who gets Child Benefit then countersigns it, and you post it to HMRC. The online form cannot be saved part way through (HMRC, how to apply). Gather the dates of care, the child’s details and the parent’s details before you start.
By countersigning, the parent confirms that you cared for the child for the period on the form. They also agree that you can have the credits. HMRC suggests the parent looks at their own National Insurance record online first. That way you both know there is a credit to spare.
Why do you have to wait until 31 October?
Because HMRC first checks that the parent already has a qualifying year. You must wait until 31 October after the end of the tax year you are claiming for. For care given between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, that means waiting until 31 October 2026.
Can grandparents backdate the childcare credit to 2011?
Yes. You can claim for any tax year back to 6 April 2011, when these credits began. Care given by phone or video call during the pandemic also counts for 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021. Each earlier year needs the countersignature of whoever got Child Benefit at the time.
How much can the credit add to your State Pension?
Each qualifying year added to your record after 5 April 2016 raises your State Pension by about £6.89 a week, until you reach the full amount (GOV.UK, your State Pension explained). Over a year of payments that is roughly £358. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week, and a record that started after April 2016 needs 35 qualifying years to reach it (GOV.UK, new State Pension).
You need 10 qualifying years to get any new State Pension at all (GOV.UK, eligibility). Credits for years before April 2016 go into your “starting amount”, which uses a different calculation. Claiming the grandparents childcare credit costs nothing. Credits come week by week, so check your record to see whether your weeks of care fill the whole gap.
What if the parents have separated?
The credit still works, but you need the signature of whoever gets Child Benefit. That may not be your own son or daughter. If your son’s former partner is the claimant, her countersignature goes on the form.
Separation can also open the credit up. A mother or father who does not live with the child is on HMRC’s list. So a father who cares for his children on weekdays while their mother works can claim her spare credit. He needs her agreement.
The difficulty comes when relations are strained. HMRC makes the agreement of the Child Benefit recipient a condition of applying, and you must both sign the declaration (HMRC guidance). Its guidance gives no route if they refuse. Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child, and you are usually treated as responsible for a child who lives with you (GOV.UK, Child Benefit eligibility). If two people responsible for the same child cannot agree who should claim, HMRC decides. So if the children’s home has moved, the claim and its credit may need to move too.
Has a separation stopped you seeing the grandchildren you used to look after? Our guide to contact orders for grandparents explains the court route.
What changes when a grandchild comes to live with you?
The credit route usually changes, because the child now lives with you. You may be able to claim Child Benefit in your own name. A person registered for Child Benefit for a child under 12 gets Class 3 credits automatically, with no transfer form.
There is no benefit called a grandparents allowance. If the grandchild’s parents have died, Guardian’s Allowance can be paid on top of Child Benefit, and sometimes when one parent is still alive (GOV.UK, Guardian’s Allowance). In England, seven councils are also piloting a kinship allowance for some kinship carers (GOV.UK, Kinship Zones).
The legal position changes too, and it is easy to miss. Child Benefit in your name gives you no say over the child’s school, medical treatment or passport. A child arrangements order naming you as a person the child lives with does. It gives you parental responsibility while the order lasts (Children Act 1989, s.12(2)). A relative the child has lived with for at least a year immediately before applying can ask for that order without first getting the court’s permission (s.10(5B)).
How does each arrangement affect the credit?
It depends on who claims Child Benefit, and that usually follows where the child lives.
| Arrangement | Who usually claims Child Benefit | How your weeks of care count |
|---|---|---|
| You look after the child while the parent works | The parent | Credits on form CA9176, if the parent has one to spare |
| The child lives with you by family agreement | You can, because the child lives with you | Automatic Class 3 credits while the child is under 12 |
| A court order says the child lives with you | You | Automatic Class 3 credits while the child is under 12 |
| The council places the child with you as a foster carer | You, but only if the council pays nothing towards the child’s accommodation or maintenance | Foster carers can apply for Class 3 credits (GOV.UK) |
Our guides to temporary care by grandparents, special guardianship for grandparents and kinship care cover the orders, the kinship allowance pilot and other council allowances.
We advised a grandfather who looked after his grandson three days a week while his daughter worked shifts. After she separated from the boy’s father, the father kept the Child Benefit claim, refused to countersign the credits form and disputed that the boy now lived with his mother. We explained that only one person can get Child Benefit for a child, that it usually goes to the person the child lives with, and that HMRC decides when two people cannot agree. We then guided the family through a child arrangements order recording that the boy lived with his mother. She claimed Child Benefit and could countersign her father’s form from then on. What happens in any case turns on its own facts.
Grandparents childcare credit checker: could your care count?
Four answers show whether the credit is likely to be open to you and what to do next. Nothing you choose here is sent or stored.
0 of 4 answered
Answer all four to see where you stand
- What to do nextThe step that fits your answers.
- The legal sideWhat your care means for decisions about the child.
What only a closer look can settle Whether the parent will countersign, and whether HMRC finds they had a qualifying year, are outside your control. Whether your care should be backed by a court order turns on your family’s facts.
Expert Tip
Keep a simple diary of the care you give: the dates, the days of the week and which children. The form asks for care periods, and claims can reach back to 2011. A diary kept at the time beats piecing years together from memory. If a court later decides where a grandchild lives, the same diary shows how long you have cared for them.
Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist & Client Support
Grandparents childcare credit: frequently asked questions
Can two grandparents share the credit?
Not from the same Child Benefit claim. There is only one credit for each claim, however many children are on it, and the person who gets Child Benefit decides which grandparent has it. If you look after children on two different claims, such as a daughter’s child and a son’s child, there can be two credits.
Does the parent lose anything by passing the credit on?
No. HMRC only transfers a credit the parent does not need. That is why you must wait until 31 October after the tax year ends: HMRC checks first that the parent already has a qualifying year.
Can I claim if I am already over State Pension age?
Not for weeks of care after you reached State Pension age, because you must be under that age when you give the care. Earlier weeks, back to 6 April 2011, can still be claimed if you met the other conditions.
Can a father who does not live with his children claim it?
Yes. A mother or father who does not live with the child is one of the family members HMRC lists. They need the countersignature of the parent who gets Child Benefit for the weeks they cared for the child.
What if the parent opted out of Child Benefit payments?
A parent registered for Child Benefit for a child under 12 still gets the weekly credit without the payments. So the credit can be passed on. If nobody has registered at all, there is no credit to transfer.
Caring for a grandchild? Put the arrangement on a footing that holds
The grandparents childcare credit runs on goodwill. Someone has to claim Child Benefit, and that person has to sign your form. When families fall out, the signature can stop coming. If a grandchild ends up living with you, you may also be making everyday decisions about school and health without parental responsibility.
A free initial consultation is a conversation with a specialist. They give you initial advice tailored to your circumstances, including whether your care should be backed by a court order. It does not include drafting or reviewing documents.
Book a free initial consultation or call 0330 094 5880.
You can also read our guides to parental responsibility for grandparents and special guardianship orders. Or return to our guide to grandparents’ rights.
General information about National Insurance credits and the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.
