High Income Child Benefit Charge Calculator 2026/27 (£60k to £80k)

Find out how much Child Benefit you have to pay back through the High Income Child Benefit Charge in 2026/27. With two children you get £44.95 a week, or £2,337.40 over 52 weeks. If your adjusted net income is £70,000, the charge rate is 50%, so you pay £1,168 and keep £1,169.40. Paying an extra £10,000 (gross) into a pension would bring your income down to £60,000 and remove the charge.

How the charge works in 2026/27

• The charge applies if you or your partner has an adjusted net income over £60,000 and either of you gets Child Benefit.
• It is 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of income over £60,000. At £80,000 the charge equals all the Child Benefit.
• If both partners are over £60,000, the one with the higher income pays. The test is individual income, so a couple each earning £59,000 pays nothing.
• The law rounds down three times: the Child Benefit total to whole pounds, the percentage to a whole number and the charge to whole pounds.

What counts as adjusted net income

Adjusted net income is your total taxable income before the Personal Allowance: salary, self-employed profit, rental profit, pensions, savings interest and dividends. You then deduct certain reliefs, mainly the gross amount of personal pension contributions and Gift Aid donations. Contributions taken from your pay before tax, including salary sacrifice, already reduce the income figure.

• A £1,000 net payment into a personal pension under relief at source counts as £1,250 gross, which cuts adjusted net income by £1,250.
• Between £60,000 and £80,000, each £200 of extra income adds 1% of your Child Benefit to the charge. With two children that is about £23 for every £200, on top of 40% Income Tax and 2% National Insurance.

Paying the charge

• If you are employed and do not need a tax return for another reason, you can pay through your PAYE tax code, using HMRC’s online service.
• Otherwise you register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of the tax year and pay by 31 January, so 31 January 2028 for 2026/27.
• You can opt out of receiving Child Benefit to avoid the charge, but keep the claim open. It protects National Insurance credits for a parent who is not working and makes sure your child gets a National Insurance number automatically.

Worked examples

FAQs

Is the threshold still £50,000?

No. The threshold rose to £60,000 and the taper widened to £20,000 from the 2024/25 tax year. The old rules (1% for every £100 over £50,000) only apply to 2023/24 and earlier years.

Should I still claim Child Benefit if the charge takes it all?

Usually yes, but opt out of the payments. Claiming protects the State Pension record of a parent who is at home with a child under 12 and gets your child a National Insurance number. If your income later falls, you can restart the payments.

Does the charge apply if the child is not mine?

It can. It applies if your partner gets Child Benefit for a child who lives with you, even if the child is not your own, and you have the higher income over £60,000.

Related calculators

• Salary Sacrifice CalculatorLower your adjusted net income
• Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026/27Tax and NI on your salary
• Marriage Allowance CalculatorSave up to £252 as a couple

Sources

• GOV.UK: High Income Child Benefit Charge
• GOV.UK: Child Benefit rates · £27.05 and £17.90 a week
• legislation.gov.uk: Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 681C · amount and rounding of the charge
• GOV.UK: Pay the charge through PAYE