By bizn_fun 
HMRC said it had involved a “small number of customers in Northern Ireland”.
As of 17 October 2025, HMRC said they had had sent enquiry letters to 346 customers from Northern Ireland. This is out of 219,255 customers claiming child benefit in Northern Ireland.
HMRC also said they have reinstated payments and closed enquires to 134 people after carrying out employment checks.
There are 46 cases which are currently undergoing these checks and HMRC confirmed they will reinstate payments once they are complete.
Child benefit is paid to more 6.9 million families, supporting 11.9 million children. It is one of the most widely accessed forms of benefit in the UK.
HMRC said a successful pilot scheme focusing on those who left the UK but carried on claiming, had already prevented £17m in wrongful payments by removing them from the system.
“It’s crucial that we undertake this work to protect taxpayers’ money,” HMRC added.