If you or your partner earns over £60,000 and you claim Child Benefit, the High Income Child Benefit Charge may apply. We work out the charge, get your Self Assessment right, and show you how pension contributions can reduce or remove it.
Child Benefit Charge
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) claws back Child Benefit where the higher earner in a household has adjusted net income above £60,000. The charge is tapered between £60,000 and £80,000, and above £80,000 it equals the full Child Benefit received. It is collected through Self Assessment, so anyone caught by it must file a return, and HMRC has issued many penalties to parents who did not realise they needed to.
Your Tax Help Accountants works out whether the charge applies, calculates it precisely, registers you for Self Assessment if needed, and files the return. We also show you how pension contributions and other moves that reduce adjusted net income can lower or even remove the charge, and whether it is still worth claiming Child Benefit at all. If you have received a penalty for missing it in the past, we help sort that too.
Because the charge is based on adjusted net income, a pension contribution that brings the higher earner below £60,000 can remove the charge entirely, while still keeping the Child Benefit and the National Insurance credits that come with claiming it.
The Detail That Matters
The High Income Child Benefit Charge claws back Child Benefit once the higher earner in a household has income over £60,000, removing it entirely at £80,000. The thresholds rose in April 2024, and many families either overpay the charge or wrongly stop claiming altogether.
For every £200 of adjusted net income above £60,000, you repay 1% of the Child Benefit received. At £80,000 the charge equals 100% of the benefit. It is the higher earner's income that counts, not the household total, and it is collected through Self Assessment.
Many families opt out to avoid the charge, but that can be a mistake: continuing to claim (even while repaying it) protects the claimant's National Insurance record and state pension, and secures the child's National Insurance number automatically. We usually advise claiming and managing the charge rather than opting out.
Because the charge is based on adjusted net income, pension contributions and Gift Aid reduce it directly. A higher earner at £66,000 who contributes £6,000 gross to a pension can bring income to £60,000 and remove the charge entirely, keeping the full Child Benefit and getting pension relief.
The rules have changed repeatedly, and HMRC has issued refunds where the charge was applied incorrectly. If you stopped claiming unnecessarily, Child Benefit can often be backdated, and we can review earlier years where the charge was miscalculated.
The trap is a household where one earner is just over £60,000 while the other earns nothing, the charge still applies, yet a pension contribution or a review of who claims can remove it and keep the benefit.
Key Figures
How We Help
We work out each partner's adjusted net income, confirm whether the charge applies, and calculate it exactly across the £60,000 to £80,000 taper.
Pension contributions and other moves that reduce adjusted net income can lower or remove the charge, we model whether it is worth doing and by how much.
If HMRC says you owed the charge in earlier years, we bring you up to date, calculate what is due, and appeal penalties where there is a reasonable excuse.
All the forms, calculations and correspondence handled on your behalf, so you never have to decode HMRC's rules or sit on hold.
A clear fixed fee quoted after a free call, your position explained in plain English, and never a surprise bill.
We act quickly, and where earlier years are involved we put those right too, reclaiming refunds or minimising penalties.
Thousands of parents have been caught out by this charge, never realising that claiming Child Benefit while earning over the threshold meant they had to file a return and pay some of it back. HMRC has issued significant penalties as a result. We work out your position, file correctly, and deal with any past years and penalties.
Recent Client Outcome
A client earning £68,000 with two children faced repaying most of their £2,212 Child Benefit and was about to opt out.
What we did. We arranged an £8,000 gross pension contribution to bring their adjusted net income to £60,000, and advised the household to keep claiming rather than opt out.
The outcome. The High Income Child Benefit Charge fell to nil, so they kept the full £2,212, secured higher-rate pension relief on the contribution, and protected the non-earning partner's state pension record.
A single, well-timed contribution removed the charge, preserved the benefit, and built retirement savings, all from income that would otherwise have been taxed at 40% plus the clawback.
Why People Come to Us
Questions Answered
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