Child Benefit & HICBC Calculator

How Child Benefit works in 2026-27

Child Benefit is paid to whoever is responsible for a child. For the 2026-27 tax year the rate is £27.05 a week for your eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child. There is no limit on the number of children you can claim for. Two children come to £2,337.40 a year, three to £3,268.20. Claiming also gives you National Insurance credits towards your State Pension while you are looking after a child under 12, which is worth keeping even if you end up repaying the benefit through the charge below.

What is the High Income Child Benefit Charge?

The High Income Child Benefit Charge, or HICBC, is a tax charge that claws back Child Benefit from higher earners. It applies when the person with the higher income in the household has an adjusted net income above £60,000. The charge is 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of income over that threshold, so it builds up gradually and reaches 100% once income hits £80,000. Above £80,000 the whole benefit is repaid. The £60,000 and £80,000 thresholds have applied since the 2024-25 tax year, replacing the older £50,000 to £60,000 band.

Worked example

Take a family with two children and a higher earner on £70,000. The Child Benefit is £27.05 plus £17.90 a week, which is £44.95 a week or £2,337.40 a year. The income is £10,000 over the £60,000 threshold. At 1% for every £200, that is 50 steps, so 50% of the benefit is charged back. The charge is £1,168 and the family keeps £1,169. If that earner paid £10,000 into a pension, their adjusted net income would drop to £60,000 and the charge would disappear, leaving the full £2,337.40.

How to reduce or avoid the charge

The charge is worked out on adjusted net income, not gross pay. Gross personal pension contributions and Gift Aid donations both reduce that figure. Someone earning £65,000 who pays £5,000 into a pension has an adjusted net income of £60,000 and pays no charge at all. This is why the pension and Gift Aid field in the calculator matters: it often makes the difference between keeping and losing the benefit.

Should you still claim Child Benefit?

Even if your income means the charge will claw back some or all of the benefit, it is usually worth making a claim. Claiming protects your National Insurance record towards the State Pension and gets your child their National Insurance number automatically. If you do not want the payments, you can register a claim but opt out of receiving the money, which keeps the credits without triggering the charge.

Frequently asked questions