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Having a child, parenting and adoption

Child Trust Fund

1. Overview
A Child Trust Fund is a long-term tax-free savings
account for children born between 1 September
2002 and 2 January 2011.

Find a Child Trust Fund (/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-

trust-fund) as a parent or if you are over 16.

The Child Trust Fund scheme closed in 2011. You

can apply for a Junior ISA (/junior-individual-savings-
accounts/overview) instead.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg)

(/cronfeydd-ymddiriedolaeth-plant).

Paying into a Child Trust Fund

You can continue to add up to £9,000 a year (/child-
trust-funds/add-money-to-the-account) to an existing
Child Trust Fund account. The money belongs to
the child and they can only take it out when they’re
18. They can take control of the account when
they’re 16.

There’s no tax to pay on the Child Trust Fund

income or any profit it makes. It will not affect any
benefits or tax credits you receive.

2. Find a Child Trust Fund

Contact your Child Trust Fund provider directly if
you know who the account is with.
If you do not know the provider, you can ask your
parent or guardian.

You can also ask HM Revenue and Customs

(HMRC) to find a Child Trust Fund. They can tell
you where the account was originally opened.

Ask HMRC to find a Child Trust Fund

Use this tool to find out how to ask HMRC to find a
Child Trust Fund.

You can ask HMRC if you’re:

a parent or guardian of a child under 18

16 or over and looking for your own trust fund

Start(https://tax.service.gov.uk/guidance/ask-
now HMRC-to-find-a-Child-Trust-Fund)

What you need to know

You’ll be asked for your National Insurance number
(/lost-national-insurance-number). You’ll also need your
adoption details if they apply.

If you’re a parent or guardian looking for a child’s

trust fund, you’ll need:

the child’s full name, address and date of birth

any previous names you or the child have used

You can include the child’s National Insurance

number (/lost-national-insurance-number) if you have
it.

What happens next

You’ll get a letter from HMRC with details of the
Child Trust Fund provider. You’ll usually get this
within 3 weeks of HMRC getting your request.

If you do not get a response within 3 weeks, you

can write to HMRC. Include your reference number
if you have one.

Write to:

Charities, Savings and International 1

HMRC
BX9 1AU

3. Managing the account

If you’re the main contact for the Child Trust Fund
account you’re called the ‘registered contact’. You
have certain responsibilities until the child turns 18,
or until the child takes control of their own account.

Your responsibilities as the

registered contact
You’re the only person who can:

tell the account provider how to invest the fund

and run the account
change the address and other personal details
change the type of account, for example from
cash to stocks and shares
move the account to another provider

Contact your Child Trust Fund provider to do this.

Moving to a different account

You can transfer a Child Trust Fund account to a

Junior ISA. Contact a Junior ISA provider to do this.

Records you need to keep

Keep the following paperwork:

your child’s Unique Reference Number (you’ll

find this on your annual Child Trust Fund
statement)
the account statements
details of the account type and the provider
Change a registered contact
You can change the registered contact to someone
with parental responsibility (/parental-rights-
responsibilities) for the child, like a parent, step-
parent or legal guardian if both parties agree to this.

Your Child Trust Fund provider can tell you how to

change the registered contact of a Child Trust Fund
account.

When your child is 16

Once your child turns 16, they can either:

take over the account by contacting the Child

Trust Fund provider
leave you in charge of the account

4. Adding money to the account

Anyone can pay money into a Child Trust Fund
account.

The Child Trust Fund scheme closed in 2011. You

can apply for a Junior ISA (/junior-individual-savings-
accounts/overview) instead.

How much you can add

You can put up to £9,000 a year into the account -
the year starts on the child’s birthday and ends the
day before their next birthday.

If you do not use the £9,000 limit, you cannot

carry any unused amount over to the following
year.

How to pay money in

For stakeholder accounts you can add money by:

cheque
standing order
 direct debit

For savings or share accounts, check with your

provider.

Government payments
Payments made by the government do not count
towards the £9,000, apart from payments made by
a local council to a child in care (/child-trust-
funds/accounts-for-looked-after-children).

5. What happens when your child is

18
On your child’s 18th birthday, the Child Trust Fund
matures. This means that:

your child automatically takes over the account

no more money can be added

Your child can either:

take out the money

transfer the money to an adult ISA

The Child Trust Fund will then close.

Until your child withdraws or transfers the money, it

stays in an account that no one else has access to.

If your child lacks the mental

capacity to manage their account
when it matures
You, or a close friend or relative, need to apply to
the Court of Protection (/become-deputy) (COP) for a
financial deputyship order so you can manage your
child’s account when they turn 18. Once the
account matures, the money can either be taken
out or transferred into an ISA.

In Scotland, applications need to be made to the

Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland
(https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/).
In Northern Ireland, applications need to be made
to the Office of Care and Protection
(https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/topics/courts-and-
tribunals/office-care-and-protection-patients-section).

6. Accounts for children in care

Some children looked after by local authorities have
a Child Trust Fund account set up on their behalf.
The Share Foundation (https://sharefound.org/) acts
as the registered contact for these accounts.

How the account is managed

The Share Foundation manages the Child Trust
Fund account for the child and will:

write to the child when they take control of the

account
change the type of Child Trust Fund account and
provider if necessary and write to the child to
explain why the change was made
send account statements to the child

They’ll manage the account until:

the child turns 18

the child turns 16 and decides to manage the
account themselves
someone takes parental responsibility (/parental-
rights-responsibilities) for the child, for example
through adoption

Take over the management of an

account
Contact the Share Foundation if you’re taking
parental responsibility for a child and want to
manage their Child Trust Fund account.

The Share Foundation can only help if you are a

parent of a child who was in care. If you have
any other questions about a Child Trust Fund,
you should contact the provider of your fund.
You’ll need to provide evidence of parental
responsibility, for example an adoption certificate.

You’ll get a letter confirming that you can take over

responsibility for the account. Show this to the Child
Trust Fund provider who can update the account to
say you’re the registered contact.

Share Foundation
Email: info@sharefound.org
Telephone: 01296 310 400
Find out about call charges (/call-charges)

1st Floor
Ardenham Court
Oxford Road
Aylesbury
HP19 8HT

When a child in care turns 16

The Share Foundation will write to the child about 2
months before their 16th birthday, telling them how
to become the registered contact for the account.

If they choose to take control of the account, they

can:

start managing it when they turn 16

withdraw money when they turn 18

7. If your child is terminally ill or dies

If your child is terminally ill you can take money out
of their Child Trust Fund account. If they die, the
money passes to whoever inherits their estate
(property and possessions).

If your child is terminally ill

‘Terminally ill’ means they have a disease or illness
that’s going to get worse and are not likely to live
more than 6 months. Only the registered contact
(/child-trust-funds/managing-the-account) can take
money out of the account.
If you live in England or Wales, you have 6 months
from the date of your child’s diagnosis to take
money out of the account.

If you live in Northern Ireland, you have 12 months

from the date of your child’s diagnosis to take
money out of the account.

If you live in Scotland, there’s no time limit for taking

money out of the account.

What you need to do

Fill in the terminal illness early access form

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-trust-
fund-and-junior-isa-terminal-illness-early-access) to let
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) know that:

your child is terminally ill

you want to take the money out of the account

You’ll need to provide evidence that your child is

terminally ill.

If your child dies

The money in the account will be paid to the person
who inherits the child’s estate. This is often one of
the child’s parents, but if your child was married, it
could be their husband or wife.

If you get Child Benefit (/child-benefit-child-parent-dies)

for a child who has died this can still carry on for a
short time.

What you need to do

Tell the Child Trust Fund account provider. They’ll

usually need proof, for example the death
certificate.
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