Child Benefit is worth £27.05 per week for the eldest child and £17.90 per week for each additional child in 2026/27 — a significant sum for families. But for households where one or both parents earn above £60,000, the high income charge begins to claw back this benefit through the tax system. Understanding how the charge works, and whether it is still worth claiming Child Benefit even when you will repay it, is an important financial planning question for two-income families. Our Child Benefit guide has the full details.
How the High Income Charge Works
The Child Benefit high income charge affects households where the highest earner has an adjusted net income above £60,000 per year. The charge is calculated on a tapered basis: for every £200 of income above £60,000, 1% of the Child Benefit is charged back, through Self Assessment or, for many employees, through their tax code. This means at £60,000, the charge is £0; at £70,000, the charge is 50% of the Child Benefit; and at £80,000, it is 100%. At an income of £80,000, the Child Benefit is fully cancelled out — above £80,000, no Child Benefit is received at all. The threshold rose from £50,000 to £60,000 in April 2024 and has not changed since, so rising wages gradually pull more households into the charge.
Is It Still Worth Claiming Child Benefit?
For households where the highest earner is above the £60,000 threshold, the question of whether to claim Child Benefit is nuanced. Even if you will repay some or all of it through Self Assessment, claiming provides valuable National Insurance credits that count towards your State Pension — each year of Child Benefit claim provides NI credits that protect your State Pension entitlement. This is worth approximately £300-400 per year in extra State Pension value. For this reason, many financial advisers recommend claiming Child Benefit even if you will repay it, to ensure the NI credit is protected. If you do not claim Child Benefit, you also do not receive the NI credits, which could be more costly in the long run than the tax charge.
- Claim for NI credits even if you repay the charge
- NI credits are worth £300-400 per year toward State Pension
- Make the lower earner the claimant so they receive the NI credits
Splitting the Claim for NI Credits
The charge is always paid by the partner with the higher adjusted net income, whichever of you claims, so switching the claimant does not reduce it. What the choice of claimant does affect is who gets the National Insurance credits, so the lower earner or the parent not working should usually be the claimant. If both parents have adjusted net income of £60,000 or less, no charge applies. The key action is to register for Child Benefit even if you will repay the charge — the NI credits are valuable. Complete the Child Benefit claim form and then inform HMRC that you will be repaying the charge through Self Assessment, which HMRC will automatically calculate based on your tax return.
- child benefit
- high income charge
- family finances
- tax
- benefits