High Income Child Benefit Charge · 2026/27
Do I have to pay back my Child Benefit?
If you or your partner earns over £60,000, some — or all — of your Child Benefit is clawed back through the High Income Child Benefit Charge, paid on the higher earner's Self Assessment return. Put in your income and how many children you claim for to see exactly what you keep and what you pay back. It runs entirely in your browser.
Your situation
The charge is worked out on the higher earner's adjusted net income — so use the income of whichever partner earns more. Nothing is sent anywhere.
How the charge works in 2026/27
Child Benefit itself isn't means-tested — anyone can claim it. But once the higher earner's adjusted net income passes £60,000, HMRC takes some of it back as a tax charge: 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 of income above £60,000. By £80,000 the charge equals the whole benefit, so there's nothing left over.
| Adjusted net income | Charge |
|---|---|
| Up to £60,000 | No charge — keep it all |
| £60,000 – £80,000 | 1% of benefit per £200 over £60,000 |
| £80,000 or more | 100% — full amount clawed back |
The charge is collected through Self Assessment, so the higher earner has to register and file a return — even if all their income is taxed through PAYE. It lands in the same January bill as any Income Tax and National Insurance.
Two ways to shrink or escape it: paying more into a pension or making Gift Aid donations both reduce your adjusted net income pound for pound — which can pull you back under £60,000 and wipe the charge out entirely.
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Common questions
At what income do I start paying the Child Benefit charge?
The High Income Child Benefit Charge starts once the higher earner's adjusted net income goes above £60,000 for 2026/27. Below that you keep all of your Child Benefit. Between £60,000 and £80,000 you pay back 1% of the benefit for every £200 of income over £60,000, and at £80,000 or more the charge equals the full amount you received.
Whose income counts — mine or my partner's?
Only the higher earner's income matters, not the household total. If you and your partner each earn £50,000 — £100,000 between you — neither of you is over £60,000, so there's no charge. It's whichever individual has the higher adjusted net income, and that person is the one who pays the charge through Self Assessment.
What is "adjusted net income"?
It's your total taxable income — salary, self-employment profit, rental profit, savings and dividend income — minus things like pension contributions (grossed up) and Gift Aid donations. Because those reduce the figure, paying more into your pension or giving through Gift Aid can bring you back under £60,000 and cut the charge.
Should I just stop claiming Child Benefit?
Usually no. Even if your income is over £80,000 and the charge would take back the whole amount, it's normally best to make the claim and then opt out of the payments. Claiming gives the stay-at-home or lower-earning parent National Insurance credits towards their State Pension, and gets your child their National Insurance number automatically. You only lose those if you never claim at all.
How do I actually pay the charge?
Through Self Assessment. The higher earner registers for a tax return (if they aren't already in the system), declares the Child Benefit received, and the charge is added to their bill — due by 31 January. If you'd rather not deal with it every year, you can keep the claim but tell HMRC to stop the payments, which removes the charge.
The Child Benefit charge drags you into Self Assessment
Once you're paying this charge you're filing a Self Assessment return — and that return also has to work out your Income Tax, National Insurance and payments on account. It helps to see the whole bill early, and to model how a pension top-up could pull your income back under £60,000. Our spreadsheet toolkit does the maths in Excel or Google Sheets you own.
- Self Assessment Tax Estimator 2026/27 — your full bill in one place: income tax, Class 4 NI, payments on account, month-by-month set-aside.
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- Invoice Tracker & Log — auto paid/outstanding/overdue, with a chase list.
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