Guardian's Allowance for Kinship Carers in Scotland

What Guardian's Allowance Is and Who Qualifies

Guardian's Allowance is a tax-free weekly payment from HMRC for people raising a child whose birth parents have died. It sits on top of Child Benefit — you must already be receiving Child Benefit for the child to qualify.

The eligibility rules are narrower than most kinship carers expect, but they also cover some situations beyond both parents being deceased:

• Both birth parents are dead — the straightforward qualifying case
• One parent is dead and the surviving parent's whereabouts are unknown — HMRC accepts this if the parent hasn't been traced despite reasonable efforts
• One parent is dead and the surviving parent is serving a prison sentence of 2 years or more
• One parent is dead and the surviving parent is incapacitated and detained in hospital

You don't need to be a grandparent or blood relative — any kinship carer (or non-relative) who has taken on responsibility for the child can claim, as long as they're already receiving Child Benefit for that child.

Guardian's Allowance is paid weekly or every 4 weeks alongside Child Benefit.

How It Interacts With Your Other Payments

Guardian's Allowance has some of the cleanest interactions of any benefit in the kinship system:

• Not deducted from your council kinship allowance — Scottish Government guidance explicitly protects Guardian's Allowance from local authority offset calculations
• Fully disregarded as income for Universal Credit — it doesn't reduce your UC award
• Tax-free — no income tax liability regardless of your earnings

Guardian's Allowance is not deducted from a council kinship allowance and is disregarded as income for Universal Credit. If you receive Pension Credit, get a benefit calculation to check how it affects your overall award. For a grandparent with a Section 11 Kinship Care Order, it can sit alongside the SRA-based council allowance, Child Benefit, and Scottish Child Payment.

How to Apply Using Form BG1

You claim Guardian's Allowance by completing Form BG1 and posting it to the HMRC Guardian's Allowance Unit. You can download the form from GOV.UK or request a paper copy by calling the Child Benefit helpline on 0300 200 3100.

The form asks for:

• Your details and your Child Benefit claim reference number
• The child's full name, date of birth, and relationship to you
• Details of both birth parents (names, dates of birth, dates of death)
• Whether you know the surviving parent's whereabouts (if one parent is still alive)

Evidence you need to send with the form:

• Original death certificate(s) for the parent(s)
• The child's original full birth certificate (not the short version — the long form showing both parents' names)
• If claiming on the basis of an absent surviving parent: explain why that criterion applies and provide any evidence HMRC requests

Submit your BG1 promptly; Guardian's Allowance is claimed separately from the council kinship care assessment.

Common Situations Where Carers Miss This Payment

Guardian's Allowance is one of the most under-claimed benefits in the kinship system. Three scenarios explain why:

The surviving parent is "somewhere" but not contactable. Many kinship placements happen because a parent has severe addiction issues or has left the family. If the other parent is deceased and the surviving parent hasn't been in contact, hasn't been located by social services, and can't be found at their last known address, you may qualify. Don't assume you're ineligible without checking.

The child was already living with you when the parent died. Some carers think Guardian's Allowance is only for children who arrive after a parent's death. It's not — it applies to any qualifying child you're responsible for, regardless of when the placement started.

You're already receiving a kinship allowance from the council. Getting a local authority allowance doesn't disqualify you from Guardian's Allowance. They're entirely separate systems: the council pays under Scottish legislation, HMRC pays under UK-wide social security law.

Getting Help With Your Claim

If you're unsure whether you qualify, the KCASS helpline (08000 28 22 33) can talk through your circumstances before you submit the form. Our Scotland Kinship Financial Help Guide covers Guardian's Allowance alongside every other payment available to kinship carers, with a step-by-step application timeline so you know which claims to file first and which agencies handle each one.

See more Scotland guides →