Child Benefit chargeEstimate, not advice
Had a letter from HMRC about Child Benefit? We built this to show how much of the charge you owe for a tax year, what you keep, and how much a pension payment would save. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
The charge is 1% for every full £200 over £60,000 and rounded down to whole pounds, so £60,199 is still 0%.
You owe it if you or your partner got Child Benefit for a tax year and either of you had adjusted net income over £60,000 in that year. The one with the higher income pays. Put that income into the calculator above to see the amount.
Only part of it, unless the higher earner's adjusted net income is £80,000 or more, when it is all paid back. Under £60,000 you keep all of it. Between the two you pay back 1% for every full £200 over £60,000.
From 20 October 2026 HMRC has been writing to parents it thinks owe the charge for 2024/25 and have not paid it. The letter asks you to act now to avoid a compliance check and penalties. You have three routes.
More on the campaign: HMRC contacts parents about the High Income Child Benefit Charge (ICAEW, 20 October 2026). You can also check with HMRC's Child Benefit tax calculator.
Adjusted net income is your taxable income less the gross amount of relief at source pension contributions and grossed up Gift Aid.
Child Benefit for the year is the weekly rate for the eldest child plus the rate for each other child, times 52 weeks. If you were paid for only part of the year, your real figure will be lower.
For every full £200 of adjusted net income over £60,000, 1% of the Child Benefit is paid back. At £80,000 or more it is all paid back. We round the percentage and the charge down, as HMRC does.
The pension figure is the gross contribution that brings adjusted net income down to £60,000. With relief at source you pay 80% and your provider adds the rest.
| Tax year | Eldest child | Each other child | Charge starts | Full charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | £25.60 | £16.95 | £60,000 | £80,000 |
| 2025/26 | £26.05 | £17.25 | £60,000 | £80,000 |
| 2026/27 | £27.05 | £17.90 | £60,000 | £80,000 |
Weekly rates. The 2026/27 rates were confirmed in a written statement on 26 November 2025. The £60,000 and £80,000 thresholds apply from 6 April 2024. The Budget on 28 October 2026 could change 2026/27 or later years, and we will update this page if it does.
Checked on 20 October 2026.
If the higher earner's adjusted net income is over £60,000, the charge is 1% of the Child Benefit paid for every full £200 over £60,000. At £80,000 or more it is all of the Child Benefit. With one child in 2024/25, at £70,000 that is 50% of £1,331.20, so £665.
Check the figures first with this calculator. If you owe the charge for 2024/25, register for Self Assessment and send a tax return. For 2025/26 you may be able to pay through your PAYE tax code instead. If you no longer want the payments, you can opt out and keep the National Insurance credits.
It is your total taxable income, including salary, profits, rent, savings interest and dividends, less things like the gross amount of relief at source pension contributions and Gift Aid donations grossed up.
Yes. A relief at source contribution lowers adjusted net income by its gross amount. If it takes income down to £60,000, there is no charge at all. You pay 80% of the gross amount and the provider claims the other 20%.
Whoever has the higher adjusted net income pays it, even if the other partner gets the Child Benefit. If only one of you is over £60,000, that person pays.
Keep the claim going, because it gives National Insurance credits towards the State Pension and gets your child a National Insurance number. You can opt out of the payments while keeping the claim if the charge would take it all back.
The Budget is on 28 October 2026. If the threshold or the Child Benefit rates change, we will update the calculator.