UK High Income Child Benefit Charge Calculator

It is a tax charge that claws back some or all of the Child Benefit paid to a household where the higher earner has adjusted net income above £60,000. It applies to whichever partner has the higher income, regardless of who actually claims the Child Benefit, and is collected through Self Assessment or, since October 2025, optionally through PAYE.

The charge starts once the higher earner's adjusted net income exceeds £60,000, and all of the Child Benefit is clawed back once income reaches £80,000. Between the two, the charge is 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of income above £60,000 — a taper introduced from 6 April 2024, replacing the previous £50,000-£60,000 band.

£26.05 a week (£1,354.60 a year) for your eldest or only child, and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child. For two children that is £2,251.60 a year before any High Income Child Benefit Charge reduces it.

Your total taxable income — including salary, bonuses, rental and investment income — before the personal allowance, but after deducting pension contributions (paid gross) and Gift Aid donations. Increasing pension contributions is one of the main ways households reduce adjusted net income and therefore their HICBC exposure.

Individual income of the higher earner, not combined household income. A couple where one partner earns £90,000 and the other earns nothing faces the full charge, while a couple where each partner earns £55,000 (a combined £110,000) faces no charge at all, because neither individual crosses the £60,000 threshold.

The partner with the higher adjusted net income is liable for the charge, even if the other partner is the one actually receiving the Child Benefit payments into their bank account. This can catch couples out where the claimant and the higher earner are different people.

You can opt out of receiving the payments to avoid the charge, but this is often unwise: claiming Child Benefit (even at a reduced or zero net rate) also protects the claimant's National Insurance credits towards the State Pension if they are not otherwise working, and registers the child for a National Insurance number in good time. Many higher-income families claim and simply pay the resulting charge, or opt out of payment while still submitting the claim to preserve the NI credit.

Since October 2025, HMRC has allowed some taxpayers to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge through PAYE via a tax code adjustment rather than filing a Self Assessment return solely for this reason. Availability and mechanics depend on your circumstances, so check with HMRC or your adviser whether you can use this route.

No — despite past proposals, the government has confirmed the charge remains based on the higher individual earner's income rather than combined household income, at least for 2025/26. This preserves the anomaly where two similarly-paid partners can escape the charge entirely while a single higher earner cannot.

Personal pension contributions (grossed up) and salary-sacrifice pension contributions both reduce your adjusted net income, which can bring you back under the £60,000 threshold or reduce the percentage clawed back in the taper. For higher earners close to the threshold, increasing pension contributions is a widely used way to reduce or eliminate the charge while also boosting retirement savings.

Enter the total number of children the household claims Child Benefit for, and the higher adjusted net income between the two partners in the household — the calculator does not need to know which specific partner is the biological parent of each child, only the totals that determine the benefit and the charge.

The charge is based on your adjusted net income for the specific tax year, so bonus timing, one-off capital gains, or variable self-employment income can push you in or out of the taper from year to year. High earners near £60,000-£80,000 should reassess their position each tax year rather than assuming last year's calculation still applies.

Yes — the High Income Child Benefit Charge and its thresholds are set UK-wide and do not vary between England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, unlike income tax bands which Scotland sets independently for non-dividend, non-savings income.

No — this calculator covers Child Benefit and the associated High Income Child Benefit Charge only. Guardian's Allowance, paid in addition to Child Benefit in specific bereavement circumstances, follows different rules and is not included in this estimate.

It applies the exact 2025/26 Child Benefit rates (£26.05/£17.25 per week) and the £60,000-£80,000 taper at 1% per £200, so it is accurate for a straightforward case. It assumes you already know your adjusted net income after pension and Gift Aid adjustments; calculating that figure itself from raw income and deductions is a separate step.

Yes — the charge applies to any UK-resident household regardless of nationality, so US citizens living in the UK with children are subject to it in exactly the same way as UK nationals. It sits alongside, and is separate from, any US tax considerations on the same family's US filing obligations.

The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing is stored unless you choose to download the branded PDF report, at which point you provide your name and email so we can send it. Phone and address are optional.

Yes. Enter your name and email (phone and address optional) and we generate a TaxStone-branded PDF of your High Income Child Benefit Charge estimate to download instantly — useful for household budgeting or sharing with your accountant.

If you are near the £60,000-£80,000 band, or juggling pension contributions, bonuses and Child Benefit decisions together, a review can find real savings. Book a free 20-minute call with a TaxStone adviser to check your position.