What the High Income Child Benefit Charge means after the threshold rise

Sophie went back to work when her youngest started school and, two pay rises later, her salary edged past £60,000. The Child Benefit kept arriving in her husband’s account as usual, and it took a letter from HMRC, months after the tax year ended, to tell her she owed part of it back. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is easy to trigger without noticing.

This guide sets out how the charge works since the threshold rose, what it costs a two-child family, and the choices about paying it, opting out or keeping the claim going.

What changed in April 2024

From the 2024/25 tax year onwards, the charge applies when someone’s adjusted net income is over £60,000. Up to and including 2023/24 the threshold was £50,000. The rate of withdrawal also slowed: GOV.UK says you pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 of income over £60,000, where it used to be 1% for every £100 over £50,000. Above £80,000, the whole amount is paid back.

It is one person’s income, not the household’s

The test looks at each partner separately. If both are over £60,000, whoever has the higher adjusted net income pays the charge, even if the Child Benefit goes into the other parent’s account. “Partner” includes someone you live with as a couple, and the charge applies from the date you move in together.

The quirk is well known: a couple each earning £55,000 pays no charge, while a family with one earner on £80,000 loses the whole benefit. The Spring Budget 2024 promised a move to a household basis by April 2026, but at the Autumn Budget 2024 the government confirmed it would not proceed with that reform, so the individual test remains.

A couple each earning £55,000 pays no charge, while a family with one earner on £80,000 loses the whole benefit.

What the charge costs a two-child family

From 6 April 2026 Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child. HMRC puts those at £1,406.60 and £930.80 a year, so a two-child family receives about £2,337.40 over the tax year.

Assumes 52 weeks of Child Benefit and the income shown for the whole tax year. Illustrative only; HMRC’s Child Benefit tax calculator gives a personal estimate.

Adjusted net income is not the same as salary

Adjusted net income starts from total taxable income, including savings interest and dividends, then takes off certain reliefs. Some deductions, such as Gift Aid donations, reduce adjusted net income; the full list is in HMRC’s adjusted net income guidance. For Gift Aid, the amount deducted is the grossed-up gift: every £1 donated reduces adjusted net income by £1.25. The same measure decides why the Personal Allowance starts to vanish above £100,000.

Paying through Self Assessment or your tax code

The traditional route is Self Assessment: someone who does not normally file a return must register by 5 October after the end of the tax year concerned. Self Assessment is compulsory if a return is needed for another reason, such as self-employment, or if it is later than 31 January after that tax year.

The newer route is PAYE. The Autumn Budget 2024 said employed people would be able to report Child Benefit through their tax code from 2025, and HMRC now runs an online service for it. HMRC sends a new tax code to you and your employer and the charge is collected from your pay. It can be used only if you need no tax return for another reason and are paying for the current or previous tax year onwards; people in Self Assessment just for this charge can phone HMRC to switch. Our guide to the letters and numbers in your tax code explains how a change like this shows up on a payslip.

Opting out, or keeping the claim going

Families can also stay registered for Child Benefit but stop the payments. There is then no charge for the period without payments, though any charge owed up to the date they stop still has to be paid. Staying registered matters for two reasons:

• National Insurance credits. The person registered still gets National Insurance credits, which can fill gaps in the record of a parent at home with young children.
• The child’s National Insurance number. A child on a Child Benefit claim is sent a National Insurance number shortly before turning 16, without having to apply.

So a family whose higher earner is over £80,000 has a reason to register and opt out rather than not claim at all. Below £80,000 the charge is less than the benefit, so many keep the payments. Payments can be restarted if income falls.

Who this matters for, and what to check

• Households getting Child Benefit where one partner’s adjusted net income passes £60,000, including through a bonus or savings interest.
• Couples who have just moved in together, where the new partner earns more.
• Employed parents who file a return only for this charge.
• Families who never claimed because of the charge and may be missing National Insurance credits.
• Married couples with one lower earner, who may also want to read what to check before claiming the Marriage Allowance.

Where this leaves families

The charge now starts at £60,000 of individual adjusted net income, and below £80,000 a family keeps more Child Benefit than it repays. The household reform will not happen, so the higher earner’s income still counts. At any income, keeping the claim registered protects National Insurance credits and the child’s number, and the charge can now be paid through a tax code.