How the High Income Child Benefit Charge works in 2026/27, the £60,000 and £80,000 thresholds, whether to keep claiming, and how to reduce the charge.
The High Income Child Benefit Charge is one of the most confusing parts of the tax system, and it catches many families by surprise, sometimes with a bill years later. This guide explains how the charge works in 2026/27, the thresholds, and how to decide what to do.
Child Benefit is paid to people responsible for bringing up a child. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is a tax charge that claws back some or all of that Child Benefit if you or your partner have a higher income. In effect, it reduces the value of Child Benefit for higher earning households.
The charge applies if the higher earner in the household has an adjusted net income over £60,000. Between £60,000 and £80,000, the charge gradually claws back the Child Benefit, and once income reaches £80,000 the charge equals the full amount of Child Benefit received, cancelling out the benefit entirely. These thresholds were raised from much lower levels, which took some families out of the charge.
The charge is based on the income of the higher earner, not the combined household income, which many people find unfair. For income between £60,000 and £80,000, you lose 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 of income above £60,000. So at £70,000, halfway through the band, you would lose half of the Child Benefit through the charge.
Even if the charge will claw back all of your Child Benefit, it is usually still worth claiming and then either paying the charge or choosing not to receive the payments. This is because claiming protects your National Insurance record and State Pension if you are not working, and ensures your child is registered for a National Insurance number. You can claim but opt out of receiving the money to avoid the charge.
If you are liable, you normally have to register for Self Assessment and pay the charge through your tax return, even if you have never filed before. There have been moves to allow the charge to be collected through PAYE tax codes for some people, which simplifies it, but many still pay through Self Assessment.
Because the charge is based on adjusted net income, you can sometimes reduce or avoid it by lowering that figure, for example through pension contributions or Gift Aid donations, which can bring your income back below the threshold. For families near the £60,000 line, this can be very worthwhile.
A tax charge that claws back Child Benefit when the higher earner in the household has income over £60,000, removing it entirely at £80,000.
The charge starts at £60,000 of the higher earner income and reaches the full amount of Child Benefit at £80,000.
Usually yes. You can claim to protect your National Insurance record and your child registration, and opt out of receiving the payments to avoid the charge.
By lowering your adjusted net income, for example through pension contributions or Gift Aid, which can bring you back below the threshold.
The High Income Child Benefit Charge is worked out using your adjusted net income, which is broadly your total taxable income less things like personal pension contributions and gift aid donations. The charge starts once that income passes 60,000 pounds. For every 200 pounds of income above 60,000 pounds, you repay 1 per cent of the child benefit your household received. By the time your income reaches 80,000 pounds the charge equals the whole of the child benefit, so it has all been clawed back. Between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds you keep a reducing share of it.
Suppose a family receives child benefit for two children, worth around 2,200 pounds for the year, and one parent has an adjusted net income of 70,000 pounds. The income is 10,000 pounds over the 60,000 pound threshold. Divided by 200, that is 50, so the charge is 50 per cent of the child benefit, which is about 1,100 pounds. The family keeps the other half. If that same parent earned 80,000 pounds, the charge would be 100 per cent and the whole 2,200 pounds would be repaid through the tax system.
One quirk that feels unfair to many families is that the charge looks at the income of the higher earning partner, not at the household total. A couple who each earn 55,000 pounds, a household income of 110,000 pounds, pay no charge at all, because neither is over 60,000 pounds. Yet a single parent earning 70,000 pounds, or a couple where one earns 70,000 pounds and the other stays at home, does pay it. Understanding this matters, because it shapes the planning that can help.
The figure that matters is adjusted net income, not just your salary. It includes salary, bonuses, rental profits, savings interest, dividends and most other taxable income, added together, then reduced by personal pension contributions and gift aid. This is good news, because it means there are legitimate ways to bring the figure down. It also means a one off spike, such as a large bonus, can drag you into the charge for a single year even if your normal salary is below 60,000 pounds.
Because the charge is based on adjusted net income, paying more into a pension can reduce or even remove it, while also building your retirement savings. Personal pension contributions are taken off your income when working out the charge. So a parent earning 70,000 pounds who pays 10,000 pounds into a pension brings their adjusted net income down to 60,000 pounds and escapes the charge entirely, as well as getting tax relief on the contribution. For many higher earners this is one of the most effective and sensible pieces of planning available, because it turns a tax charge into retirement saving.
Watch the points where your income crosses 60,000 pounds or 80,000 pounds, because a bonus or a pay rise can trigger the charge or increase it sharply. If a bonus would tip you over, paying some of it into a pension through your employer before it is paid can keep your adjusted net income under the threshold. A quick check before bonus season is far better than a surprise on your tax return.
If your income is comfortably above 80,000 pounds and will stay there, the whole of the child benefit is being clawed back anyway, so some families choose to stop receiving the payments rather than receive them and repay them through self assessment. You can do this through your child benefit account. The important point is that this should be a decision to stop the payments, not a decision never to claim, because the claim itself carries a valuable hidden benefit.
This is the mistake that costs families the most. Even if you decide not to receive the payments, you should still complete the child benefit claim and then choose not to be paid. Claiming gives the parent at home National Insurance credits that count towards their state pension, for each year until the child turns 12. Parents who never claim at all can end up with gaps in their National Insurance record and a smaller state pension years later, which is a far bigger loss than the child benefit itself. Claiming also makes sure your child is registered and receives their National Insurance number automatically at 16.
Until recently the only way to pay the charge was to register for self assessment and report it on a tax return each year, even if you had no other reason to file. HMRC has now introduced a route to pay the charge through your PAYE tax code instead, without needing a full return, which is simpler for employed parents. Either way the charge falls on the higher earning partner, who has to deal with it, even when the child benefit is paid to the other partner.
The most common problems we see are families not realising the threshold rose to 60,000 pounds and either worrying unnecessarily or missing it when they cross it, higher earners forgetting to register and then facing penalties, and parents stopping their claim altogether and quietly losing state pension credits. A short review each year, especially after a pay rise or a bonus, keeps you on the right side of all of these.
The charge is based on your income for the whole tax year, so a change part way through still counts. If you start a new job, take on extra work or receive a bonus that pushes you over 60,000 pounds, the charge can apply even if you were below the threshold for part of the year. Equally, if your income falls, perhaps through a period of unpaid leave or reduced hours, you may drop out of the charge. It is worth checking your expected income each year rather than assuming last year's position still holds.
The rules can feel especially awkward where parents have separated. The charge falls on whoever actually receives the child benefit, or their partner, and only the higher earner in that household is assessed. If you have moved in with a new partner who is not the parent of the child, their income can still bring the charge into play, because it looks at the income of the higher earner in the household where the child benefit is received. These situations are fiddly, and it is easy to get them wrong, so they are worth a careful look.
Because the thresholds are fixed and wages tend to rise, more families are pulled into the charge each year without realising. A quick annual review, especially after a pay rise, a bonus or a change in your household, keeps you in control and lets you act in time, for example by making a pension contribution before the tax year ends.
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