Children and childcare
High Income Child Benefit Charge: who pays, how much, and how to cut it
A tax on the higher earner, not on the parent who receives the money, and one that a pension contribution can shrink.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The High Income Child Benefit Charge claws back Child Benefit from households where one person has adjusted net income above £60,000 in the tax year. For 2026/27 it takes 1% of the year’s Child Benefit for every £200 of income over that line, so the whole benefit is repaid once income reaches £80,000. With two children, Child Benefit is worth £2,337.40 a year, so a higher earner on £70,000 repays half, about £1,168. The charge is paid by whichever partner has the higher income, even if the other partner receives the payments, and couples’ incomes are never added together. Adjusted net income is total taxable income, savings interest and dividends included, minus pension contributions and Gift Aid donations, which makes a pension payment the usual way to bring it down. You settle it through your PAYE tax code or a Self Assessment return, or you can opt out of the payments and keep the National Insurance credits.
Your High Income Child Benefit Charge for 2026/27
Charge to repay
£934
| Child Benefit for the year | £2,337 |
| Share clawed back | 40% |
| Charge after the extra pension contribution | £467 |
| Saved on the charge alone | £467 |
1% for every £200 above £60,000; all of it from £80,000. Income tax relief on the contribution comes on top.
How the charge is calculated
Take the higher earner’s adjusted net income for the tax year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Subtract £60,000, divide what is left by £200 and ignore any fraction: that is the percentage of the year’s Child Benefit you repay, capped at 100%. The charge is then rounded down to the pound. The table runs the rule for one, two and three children at the rates paid this year.
| Adjusted net income | Share repaid | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £62,000 | 10% | £140 | £233 | £326 |
| £65,000 | 25% | £351 | £584 | £817 |
| £68,000 | 40% | £562 | £934 | £1,307 |
| £70,000 | 50% | £703 | £1,168 | £1,634 |
| £72,000 | 60% | £843 | £1,402 | £1,960 |
| £75,000 | 75% | £1,054 | £1,753 | £2,451 |
| £78,000 | 90% | £1,265 | £2,103 | £2,941 |
| £80,000 | 100% | £1,406 | £2,337 | £3,268 |
Between £60,000 and £80,000 the charge behaves like an extra tax on each pound earned. With three children, every £200 of extra income removes about £32.68 of Child Benefit, on top of income tax and National Insurance. That is why the band attracts so much planning. Until 5 April 2024 the charge started at £50,000 and took 1% for every £100, so a late return for 2023/24 or earlier still uses those older figures.
What counts as adjusted net income
Start with all taxable income for the year: salary and bonuses, taxable benefits in kind such as a company car, self-employed profits, rental profits, pensions in payment, savings interest and dividends. Then take off the gross amount of pension contributions that were not already deducted before tax, and the grossed-up value of Gift Aid donations. Personal allowances are not deducted. What remains is the figure HMRC uses for the charge.
Some income is left out altogether because it is not taxable. Child Benefit itself, Guardian’s Allowance, PIP and Tax-Free Childcare top-ups do not add to adjusted net income. ISA interest is tax-free and does not count either, whereas interest on an ordinary savings account does, even when it falls within the personal savings allowance.
Three ways to reduce or avoid it
Pension contributions
Take a parent on £71,000 with two children. The charge is 55% of £2,337.40, which is £1,285. A further £5,000 gross into a pension takes income to £66,000 and the charge to £701. Part of the money that went into the pension comes straight back as Child Benefit kept, the rest as income tax relief. Salary sacrifice, where the employer offers it, saves National Insurance as well.
Gift Aid
Charity donations made with Gift Aid are deducted at their grossed-up value, so someone just over the threshold who already gives to charity can bring the gift forward or increase it before 5 April. The higher-rate relief is claimed on the Self Assessment return.
Changing who earns what
Where one partner earns well above £80,000 and the other little, nothing short of a large pension payment changes the outcome. Where both partners work in a family business, the split of profits or dividends decides whose income crosses the line, and so who pays. The rule is applied to each partner in turn, and only the higher figure matters.
Paying it: PAYE or Self Assessment
Employees and pensioners who have no other reason to file a tax return can pay through their tax code. You register online with your adjusted net income, and HMRC sends a new code to your employer or pension provider so the charge is collected month by month. This route is open only for the current or previous tax year and only up to 31 January after the end of the year you are paying for.
You must use Self Assessment if you already file a return, for example because you are self-employed, have rental income or untaxed savings interest, or if that 31 January date has passed. Someone who has never filed has to register by 5 October after the end of the tax year: for 2026/27 that means by 5 October 2027, with the return and payment due by 31 January 2028. The Self Assessment page for the charge has the steps. Leaving it undeclared can bring a penalty on top of the charge.
Opting out without losing the claim
If your income will clearly be above £80,000, receiving Child Benefit and repaying it all is pointless paperwork. You can claim and tick the box not to be paid, or opt out of payments on an existing claim. The claim stays live. That matters more than it looks: the parent named on it gets National Insurance credits towards the State Pension while a child is under 12, which protects anyone who stops work or earns too little to pay contributions, and the child receives a National Insurance number before turning 16 without applying.
Opting out is not available while Child Benefit is being used to repay an overpayment. Payments already received before the opt-out still count for the charge, and you must keep reporting changes such as a child leaving education.
When partners move in together or separate
The charge follows the household week by week. It applies from the date you start living with someone whose household receives Child Benefit, until you separate permanently or the payments stop; a hospital stay or working away does not count as separation. A new partner on £75,000 moving in halfway through the year owes the charge on the Child Benefit paid after that date, not for the whole year. If you pay through PAYE and the relationship ends, tell HMRC so your tax code is corrected.
To see what your own household keeps once the charge is taken off, use the Child Benefit calculator; the current weekly amounts and their history are on the rates page. If you also pay for childcare, the Tax-Free Childcare limit of £100,000 uses the same adjusted net income figure.