The Government department has said it is “working urgently” to fix the issue and apologised to those waiting for June’s instalment.
No time frame has been announced on when the payments will be sent, but the tax authority will provide an update “as soon as they are available”.
It also asked parents to not contact it in the meantime while it works through the problems that have left some families struggling to pay their bills.
Despite today’s delay, payments due for Tuesday will still be made on time, HMRC tweeted.
HMRC wrote: “We are working to get payments out as quickly as possible to those people who were expecting their Child Benefit today but didn’t get it. We are sorry for the delay and will give an update here [on X] soon.“
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Parents have expressed their frustration with the delays on X (formerly Twitter).
‘Hardest time of my life’
One mum tweeted: “Being unable to work, relying on benefits has to be the hardest time of my life[,] as proved today when the #ChildBenefit hasn’t been paid.
I’m now overdrawn with the bank, [and] can’t pay for the small shopping order that would carry us through [un]til my #PIP is paid. #HMRC.”
Another added: “My food shop click & collect order was declined this morning due to child benefit not going in. Luckily I still managed to get it as used savings but not ideal!”
One father wrote: “Need our child benefit immediately[,] we rely on it and live payday to payday, how do I feed my kids [?].”
The payment ought to arrive every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday and is for eligible parents who are bringing up a child who is under 16 or below the age of 20 and in approved education or training.
It’s worth up to £1,331 per year for the first or only child, and up to £881 per year for each additional child, while there are no limits on the number of children you can claim for.
Payments automatically stop on 31 August or after the child turns 16, unless parents renew their claim if their child is continuing in approved education or training.
Meanwhile, it’s not the first service issue that’s hit HMRC, as callers collectively waited 800 years on hold while trying to get through to an adviser during 2022/23, its performance records showed.
If you have not received your payment, you can submit a complaint on https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-complaints.
