Child Benefit claimants with an annual income of £80,000 or more must repay payments in full (Image: Getty)
UK households claiming Child Benefit will be hit with a HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) repayment charge if they breach an £80,000 rule.
High earners with an individual annual income of £60,000 or more are subject to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC), with this threshold triggering repayments at a rate of 1% for every £200 earned above £60,000. But in cases where an individual’s annual income reaches £80,000 or more, HMRC rules mean Child Benefit payments must be repaid in full. The tax charge applies to claimants in the current 2026/27 tax year with affected households given the choice of either getting Child Benefit payments and paying the tax charge, or opting out of payments and not paying the tax charge.
If you do opt to pay the tax charge, this can be done either by paying it through your PAYE tax code or through Self Assessment.
Confirming the rule for the new 2026/27 tax year, HMRC said: “From tax year 2024 to 2025 onwards, if you or your partner earn more than £60,000 a year, you’ll have to pay some of your Child Benefit back. If you or your partner earn £80,000 or more, you’ll have to pay all of it back.
“You’ll pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 you earn over the threshold. Example: Your adjusted net income is £67,600 in tax year 2024 to 2025. This is £7,600 over the £60,000 threshold. As 7,600 divided by 200 is 38, you’ll pay back 38% of your Child Benefit.”
If your adjusted net income is over the threshold and so is your partner’s, then whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the tax charge.
‘Partner’ refers to someone you’re not permanently separated from who you’re married to, in a civil partnership with or living with as if you were.
For claimants who choose to pay the tax charge, HMRC says this must done through Self Assessment if you need to send a tax return for another reason, such as if you’re self-employed or each interest on savings or investments. You must also pay through Self Assessment if it’s later than January 31 in the year after the tax year you need to pay for.
Explaining how the charge can be paid in a post on X on Wednesday (July 22), HMRC said: “We have made it easier to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Customers in Self Assessment will now have their Child Benefit information pre-populated on their online tax return.”
Those who opt out of receiving payments will still remain registered for Child Benefit, so while this means you won’t receive payments – and won’t have to pay the tax charge as a result – you’ll still get National Insurance credits which count towards your State Pension, plus a National Insurance number for your child, without them having to apply before they turn 16.
Child Benefit payments have been given a boost for the 2026/27 tax year, with an uplift on April 6 taking rates to £27.05 per week for the first or eldest child, and £17.90 for any additional children – an annual increase of £52 and £33.80 respectively.
Over a full year, this amounts to a total of £1,406.60 per year for the eldest or only child, and an additional £930.80 per year for each additional child, with no limit as to how many children parents can claim for.