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High Income Child Benefit Charge

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1. Overview

You or your partner may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge if either of you receives Child Benefit and at least one of you earns more than the threshold. This means you will have to pay some or all of your Child Benefit back.

The charge may also apply if someone else gets Child Benefit for a child living with you and they contribute at least an equal amount towards the child’s upkeep.

It does not matter if the child living with you is not your own child.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

The threshold

An individual income is over the threshold if it’s:

  • over £60,000 for tax years starting from 2024 to 2025

  • over £50,000 for tax years up to and including the tax year 2023 to 2024

What counts as income

To work out if your income is over the threshold, you’ll need to work out your ‘adjusted net income’.

Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income, which includes savings interest and dividends. It’s calculated before any Personal Allowances and less certain tax reliefs, such as pension contributions and Gift Aid.

Working out the tax charge

You can use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of how much of your Child Benefit you will have to pay back.

From tax year 2024 to 2025 onwards

If you or your partner earn more than £60,000 a year, you’ll have to pay some of your Child Benefit back. If you or your partner earn £80,000 or more, you’ll have to pay all of it back.

You’ll pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 you earn over the threshold.

Example

Your adjusted net income is £67,600 in tax year 2024 to 2025. This is £7,600 over the £60,000 threshold. As 7,600 divided by 200 is 38, you’ll pay back 38% of your Child Benefit.

For tax years up to and including the tax year 2023 to 2024

If you or your partner earned more than £50,000 a year, you’ll have to pay some of your Child Benefit back. If you or your partner earned £60,000 or more, you’ll have to pay all of it back.

You’ll pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £100 you earn over the threshold.

Example

Your adjusted net income is £56,700 for tax year 2023 to 2024. This is £6,700 over the £50,000 threshold. As 6,700 divided by 100 is 67, you’ll pay back 67% of your Child Benefit.

Who pays the tax charge

If your adjusted net income is over the threshold and so is your partner’s, then whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the tax charge.

‘Partner’ means someone you’re not permanently separated from who you’re married to, in a civil partnership with or living with as if you were. 

If your income is over the threshold  

You can choose to either:

Ways to pay the tax charge

There are two ways to pay the tax charge, you can either:

However, you must pay the tax charge through Self Assessment if:

  • you need to send a tax return for another reason, for example because you’re self-employed or earn interest on savings or investments
  • it’s later than 31 January in the year after the tax year you need to pay for, you must pay the tax charge through Self Assessment.

Example

You need to pay the tax charge for the tax year starting on 6 April 2025. If it’s after 31 January 2027, you must make the payment through Self Assessment.

If you’ve previously completed a Self Assessment tax return to pay the tax charge and not for any other reason, you can choose to pay it through PAYE instead. To do this, you will need to contact HMRC by phone to:

  • leave Self Assessment
  • register to pay the tax charge through PAYE

Opting out of Child Benefit payments

If you opt out of receiving payments, you are still registered for Child Benefit but you do not receive the payment.

You would not have to pay the tax charge and you would still get:

Find out more about opting out of getting Child Benefit payments.

2. Pay the tax charge through PAYE

Use this service to pay the tax charge through your regular Income Tax payments (PAYE).

Once you are registered, your payments will be set up and you will not have to do anything else unless your circumstances change. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will send details of your new tax code to you and your employer. If you receive income from a pension, HMRC will send your new tax code to your pension provider.

When you can pay through PAYE

You can only pay the tax charge through PAYE if:

  • you do not need to send a tax return for another reason, for example if you become self-employed

  • it’s on or before 31 January in the year after the tax year you need to pay for

  • you are paying the tax charge for the tax year 2024 to 2025 onwards

Example

You need to pay the tax charge for the tax year starting on 6 April 2025. If it’s on or before 31 January 2027, you can pay through PAYE.

If you cannot pay through PAYE then you must pay through Self Assessment instead.

Change from paying through Self Assessment to paying through PAYE

If you’ve previously completed a Self Assessment tax return to pay the tax charge and not for any other reason, you can choose to pay it through PAYE instead. To do this, you will need to contact HMRC by phone to: 

  • leave Self Assessment
  • register to pay the tax charge through PAYE

You’ll need:

  • your adjusted net income
  • the National Insurance number of any partner who received Child Benefit in the last tax year  
  • the dates of relationships with any partners receiving Child Benefit

If you need to stay in Self Assessment for other reasons, then you must pay the charge through Self Assessment.

Before you start

You cannot save your progress in this service. You should collect the information you need before you start.

You’ll need:

  • your adjusted net income
  • your partner’s adjusted net income, if you have a partner
  • the National Insurance number of any partner who received Child Benefit in the last tax year  
  • the dates of relationships with any partners receiving Child Benefit

Sign in to pay the tax charge through PAYE

You’ll need to sign in to use this service. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them.

You’ll be told when you sign in if you need to prove your identity. This is to keep your details safe and normally involves using photo ID like a passport or driving licence.

Start now

If you cannot get information from your partner or ex-partner

You can write to HMRC to ask whether your partner or ex-partner gets Child Benefit or has a higher income than you. HMRC will reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ - they will not give you any financial information or your partner’s National Insurance number.

You can only ask for this information if you and your partner either live together, or separated within the tax year you want information for.

Write to HMRC

You need to tell HMRC the tax year you’re asking about, as well as your:

  • name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number

  • Unique Taxpayer Reference, if you have one

  • adjusted net income

  • partner or ex-partner’s name

If you can, include your partner or ex-partner’s:

  • address

  • date of birth

  • National Insurance number, if you know it

  • Unique Taxpayer Reference, if they have one

Send your letter to:

Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS

3. Pay the tax charge through Self Assessment

You must pay the tax charge through Self Assessment if either of the following apply:

Example

You need to pay the tax charge for the tax year starting on 6 April 2025. If it’s after 31 January 2027, you must make the payment through Self Assessment.

Otherwise you can choose to pay the tax charge through PAYE instead.

How to pay through Self Assessment

  1. Register for Self Assessment.

  2. Fill in a Self Assessment tax return each tax year and pay what you owe.

Register for Self Assessment

If you do not usually send a tax return, you need to tell HMRC by 5 October following the tax year you need to pay the tax charge. You can tell HMRC by registering for Self Assessment.

You may get a penalty if you need to pay through Self Assessment but do not register for it or do not declare Child Benefit on your tax return.

You’ll get a letter telling you what to do next after you’ve registered.

Register now

Change from paying through Self Assessment to paying through PAYE

Phone HMRC if both of the following apply:

You’ll need:

  • your adjusted net income
  • the National Insurance number of any partner who received Child Benefit in the last tax year  
  • the dates of relationships with any partners receiving Child Benefit

If you cannot get information from your partner or ex-partner

You can write to HMRC to ask whether your partner or ex-partner gets Child Benefit or has a higher income than you. HMRC will reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ - they will not give you any financial information or your partner’s National Insurance number. 

You can only ask for this information if you and your partner either live together, or separated within the tax year you want information for.

Write to HMRC

You need to tell HMRC the tax year you’re asking about, as well as your:

  • name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number

  • Unique Taxpayer Reference, if you have one

  • adjusted net income

  • partner or ex-partner’s name

If you can, include your partner or ex-partner’s:

  • address

  • date of birth

  • National Insurance number, if you know it

  • Unique Taxpayer Reference, if they have one

Send your letter to: 

Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS

4. Opt out of Child Benefit payments

If you opt out of receiving payments, you are still registered for Child Benefit but you do not receive the payment.

You would not have to pay the tax charge and you would still get:

How to opt out

To opt out of Child Benefit payments, you can either:

You’ll need to sign in to use the online service or fill in the online form. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them.

You can also contact the Child Benefit Office by phone or post to opt out.

You cannot use the online service or the online form if you’re an appointee or authorised agent.

You cannot opt out of Child Benefit payments if you’re using them to pay back an overpayment or to pay back certain other benefits from another country.

Responsibilities after you opt out of Child Benefit payments

You must pay any tax charge owed for each tax year up to the date your Child Benefit payments stop.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of how much you may owe each tax year.

Even after you opt out of payments, you must report any changes in your family life that affect your entitlement to Child Benefit.

5. Restart your Child Benefit payments

You can restart your Child Benefit payments if:

To restart your Child Benefit payments, either:

You’ll need to sign in to use the online service or fill in the online form. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them.

You can also contact the Child Benefit Office by phone or post to restart your Child Benefit payments.

You cannot use the online service or the online form if you’re an appointee or authorised agent.

When you’ll start getting payments

After the Child Benefit Office gets your request, it can take up to 28 days before you get your first payment.

The office will write to tell you how much money you’ll get from backdated payments (if any).

Responsibilities after your Child Benefit restarts 

You or your partner will have to pay any tax charge on the benefit received from the restart date if your ‘adjusted net income’ is over the threshold.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of your adjusted net income and see if you may be affected by the tax charge.

You must report any changes to your family life that affect your Child Benefit.

6. If your circumstances change

Your income changes 

You or your partner will not have to pay the tax charge if you or your partner’s individual ‘adjusted net income’ for the whole of a tax year is below the threshold.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of your adjusted net income changes and see if they may affect the tax charge.

You can choose to opt out or restart your Child Benefit payments at any time.

If your adjusted net income goes below the threshold and you no longer need to complete a Self Assessment tax return, you must tell HMRC.

You’re paying through Self Assessment and no longer need to send a tax return

Phone HMRC if both of the following apply:

You’ll need:

  • your adjusted net income
  • the National Insurance number of any partner who received Child Benefit in the last tax year  
  • the dates of relationships with any partners receiving Child Benefit

You have a new child 

Claiming Child Benefit helps you qualify for: 

  • National Insurance credits, which protect your right to the State Pension 
  • other benefits like Guardian’s Allowance 

Child Benefit proves you (or your partner) support another child. You may pay less child maintenance for children not living with you.

You can make a new claim or just protect your entitlement to the above by:

A partner moves in or out

Your situation may change if your adjusted net income is over the threshold and you move in or split up with someone who’s getting Child Benefit.

If both you and your partner have an individual income that’s over the threshold, then whoever has the higher adjusted net income is responsible for paying the charge.

The tax charge applies from the date you move in together to either the date you permanently separate or the Child Benefit payments stop - for example because the child is too old to qualify for Child Benefit. 

Short periods apart do not count as separation, for example a hospital stay or working away from home.

If you pay the charge through PAYE and you separate from your partner, you must tell HMRC, either by:

HMRC will adjust your tax code so that you no longer pay the charge.