Child Benefit Tax Charge Calculator (HICBC)
Work out what the High Income Child Benefit Charge takes back, who in the couple pays it, and how a pension contribution can wipe it out. We calculate your adjusted net income for you.
- Clawed back
- You keep
Between £60,000 and £80,000 the charge takes back one percentage point of Child Benefit for each complete £200 of income, so it climbs in steps rather than a straight line. On your £70,000 it takes £1,125.80, leaving £1,125.80.
| Adjusted net income | Clawed back | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| £55,000 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £55,200 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £55,400 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £55,600 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £55,800 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £56,000 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £56,200 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £56,400 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £56,600 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £56,800 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £57,000 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £57,200 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £57,400 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £57,600 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £57,800 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £58,000 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £58,200 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £58,400 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £58,600 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £58,800 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £59,000 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £59,200 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £59,400 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £59,600 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £59,800 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £60,000 | £0.00 | £2,251.60 |
| £60,200 | £22.52 | £2,229.08 |
| £60,400 | £45.03 | £2,206.57 |
| £60,600 | £67.55 | £2,184.05 |
| £60,800 | £90.06 | £2,161.54 |
| £61,000 | £112.58 | £2,139.02 |
| £61,200 | £135.10 | £2,116.50 |
| £61,400 | £157.61 | £2,093.99 |
| £61,600 | £180.13 | £2,071.47 |
| £61,800 | £202.64 | £2,048.96 |
| £62,000 | £225.16 | £2,026.44 |
| £62,200 | £247.68 | £2,003.92 |
| £62,400 | £270.19 | £1,981.41 |
| £62,600 | £292.71 | £1,958.89 |
| £62,800 | £315.22 | £1,936.38 |
| £63,000 | £337.74 | £1,913.86 |
| £63,200 | £360.26 | £1,891.34 |
| £63,400 | £382.77 | £1,868.83 |
| £63,600 | £405.29 | £1,846.31 |
| £63,800 | £427.80 | £1,823.80 |
| £64,000 | £450.32 | £1,801.28 |
| £64,200 | £472.84 | £1,778.76 |
| £64,400 | £495.35 | £1,756.25 |
| £64,600 | £517.87 | £1,733.73 |
| £64,800 | £540.38 | £1,711.22 |
| £65,000 | £562.90 | £1,688.70 |
| £65,200 | £585.42 | £1,666.18 |
| £65,400 | £607.93 | £1,643.67 |
| £65,600 | £630.45 | £1,621.15 |
| £65,800 | £652.96 | £1,598.64 |
| £66,000 | £675.48 | £1,576.12 |
| £66,200 | £698.00 | £1,553.60 |
| £66,400 | £720.51 | £1,531.09 |
| £66,600 | £743.03 | £1,508.57 |
| £66,800 | £765.54 | £1,486.06 |
| £67,000 | £788.06 | £1,463.54 |
| £67,200 | £810.58 | £1,441.02 |
| £67,400 | £833.09 | £1,418.51 |
| £67,600 | £855.61 | £1,395.99 |
| £67,800 | £878.12 | £1,373.48 |
| £68,000 | £900.64 | £1,350.96 |
| £68,200 | £923.16 | £1,328.44 |
| £68,400 | £945.67 | £1,305.93 |
| £68,600 | £968.19 | £1,283.41 |
| £68,800 | £990.70 | £1,260.90 |
| £69,000 | £1,013.22 | £1,238.38 |
| £69,200 | £1,035.74 | £1,215.86 |
| £69,400 | £1,058.25 | £1,193.35 |
| £69,600 | £1,080.77 | £1,170.83 |
| £69,800 | £1,103.28 | £1,148.32 |
| £70,000 | £1,125.80 | £1,125.80 |
| £70,200 | £1,148.32 | £1,103.28 |
| £70,400 | £1,170.83 | £1,080.77 |
| £70,600 | £1,193.35 | £1,058.25 |
| £70,800 | £1,215.86 | £1,035.74 |
| £71,000 | £1,238.38 | £1,013.22 |
| £71,200 | £1,260.90 | £990.70 |
| £71,400 | £1,283.41 | £968.19 |
| £71,600 | £1,305.93 | £945.67 |
| £71,800 | £1,328.44 | £923.16 |
| £72,000 | £1,350.96 | £900.64 |
| £72,200 | £1,373.48 | £878.12 |
| £72,400 | £1,395.99 | £855.61 |
| £72,600 | £1,418.51 | £833.09 |
| £72,800 | £1,441.02 | £810.58 |
| £73,000 | £1,463.54 | £788.06 |
| £73,200 | £1,486.06 | £765.54 |
| £73,400 | £1,508.57 | £743.03 |
| £73,600 | £1,531.09 | £720.51 |
| £73,800 | £1,553.60 | £698.00 |
| £74,000 | £1,576.12 | £675.48 |
| £74,200 | £1,598.64 | £652.96 |
| £74,400 | £1,621.15 | £630.45 |
| £74,600 | £1,643.67 | £607.93 |
| £74,800 | £1,666.18 | £585.42 |
| £75,000 | £1,688.70 | £562.90 |
| £75,200 | £1,711.22 | £540.38 |
| £75,400 | £1,733.73 | £517.87 |
| £75,600 | £1,756.25 | £495.35 |
| £75,800 | £1,778.76 | £472.84 |
| £76,000 | £1,801.28 | £450.32 |
| £76,200 | £1,823.80 | £427.80 |
| £76,400 | £1,846.31 | £405.29 |
| £76,600 | £1,868.83 | £382.77 |
| £76,800 | £1,891.34 | £360.26 |
| £77,000 | £1,913.86 | £337.74 |
| £77,200 | £1,936.38 | £315.22 |
| £77,400 | £1,958.89 | £292.71 |
| £77,600 | £1,981.41 | £270.19 |
| £77,800 | £2,003.92 | £247.68 |
| £78,000 | £2,026.44 | £225.16 |
| £78,200 | £2,048.96 | £202.64 |
| £78,400 | £2,071.47 | £180.13 |
| £78,600 | £2,093.99 | £157.61 |
| £78,800 | £2,116.50 | £135.10 |
| £79,000 | £2,139.02 | £112.58 |
| £79,200 | £2,161.54 | £90.06 |
| £79,400 | £2,184.05 | £67.55 |
| £79,600 | £2,206.57 | £45.03 |
| £79,800 | £2,229.08 | £22.52 |
| £80,000 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £80,200 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £80,400 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £80,600 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £80,800 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £81,000 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £81,200 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £81,400 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £81,600 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £81,800 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £82,000 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £82,200 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £82,400 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £82,600 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £82,800 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £83,000 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £83,200 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £83,400 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £83,600 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £83,800 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £84,000 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £84,200 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £84,400 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £84,600 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £84,800 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| £85,000 | £2,251.60 | £0.00 |
| Child Benefit received | £2,251.60 |
|---|---|
| Your adjusted net income | £70,000 |
| Your partner's adjusted net income | £30,000 |
| Above the £60,000 threshold by | £10,000 |
| Clawed back | 50% |
| The charge | −£1,125.80 |
| You keep | £1,125.80 |
Standing on tread 50 of 100. The next £200 of income crosses a £200 boundary and costs a further £22.52 at once.
Information
What the charge is, and who pays it. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is a tax charge, not a cut to the benefit. Child Benefit is still paid in full to whoever claims it; the charge is then assessed on the partner with the higher adjusted net income, which may not be the same person. It is worked out per person, never per household, and that produces the result most people find hardest to believe: two parents each earning just under the threshold pay nothing at all, while a single earner at the top of the band loses every penny of it on a lower household income.
Why it is a staircase. Between the thresholds the charge takes back 1% of your Child Benefit for each complete step of income above the lower one. "Complete" is doing real work there: the percentage is rounded down, so nothing happens until you cross the next step, and then a whole percentage point lands at once. A rise of £150 can cost you nothing, and the single pound after it can cost a full step of Child Benefit.
Adjusted net income is not your salary. It is everything taxable, less what you put into a pension and less any grossed-up Gift Aid donations. That is why a pension contribution is the standard way out of the charge. Enter the total that lands in your pension, including any tax relief added to it: if your provider tops up what leaves your bank, £80 paid in counts as £100 here. This calculator does not ask about Gift Aid, so if you give regularly your real charge will be a little lower than it shows.
Keep claiming, even if you pay all of it back. A parent at home with a child under 12 gets National Insurance credits toward their State Pension from the Child Benefit claim, not from the money. Opt out and the money stops and so do the credits, which can quietly cost State Pension years. You can claim and choose not to receive the payments, which keeps the credits and removes the charge. Whose name the claim is in matters too, because the credits go to the claimant.
What this calculator does not do. It prices one household for one full tax year. It does not model Child Benefit eligibility itself, mid-year changes, separated parents, or the interaction with the £100,000 childcare cliff and the Personal Allowance taper, which run off the same adjusted net income and deserve their own page. To see this charge alongside the rest of your finances year by year, open the full simulator.
FAQ
- Who actually pays the charge, me or my partner?
Whichever of you has the higher adjusted net income, regardless of who claims the Child Benefit or whose account it is paid into. If you both have exactly the same income the charge falls on the person being assessed. Put both sets of figures in above and the calculator says which of you it lands on.
- We earn just under £60,000 each. Do we pay anything?
No. The charge is assessed per person, not on your household, so neither of you is over the £60,000 threshold and you keep all of it. A single earner on £80,000 in a household earning less overall loses the lot. That asymmetry is real and much criticised, and it is the law as it stands.
- Should I stop claiming Child Benefit?
Almost certainly not. The claim carries National Insurance credits toward the State Pension for a parent at home with a child under 12, and those credits follow the claim rather than the payment. Opting out entirely stops both. The right move is usually to keep the claim and turn off the payments, which keeps the credits and removes the charge.
- Will paying into my pension get rid of the charge?
Often, yes, and the calculator works out how much it would take. Pension contributions reduce your adjusted net income, which is the figure the charge is assessed on, so contributing enough to get back under the threshold removes the charge as well as earning tax relief on the contribution.
- Why did a small pay rise cost me so much?
Because the charge moves in whole percentage points of your Child Benefit for each complete £200 of income, and because it sits on top of income tax and National Insurance. Inside the band one more pound of income can be worth well under half a pound to you, and crossing a £200 boundary costs a full percentage point at once.
- Does it work differently in Scotland?
The charge itself is the same across the UK: it is assessed on adjusted net income, which is not devolved, so the Child Benefit clawback is identical wherever you live. Scottish income tax rates differ, so the total marginal rate on income in this band is not the same: pick your country under "Where you live" and the effective-rate figure uses your own bands.
- What counts towards my adjusted net income?
Everything taxable, less the total that goes into your pension and less any grossed-up Gift Aid donations. Enter the pension figure gross: if your provider adds tax relief to what leaves your bank, £80 paid in counts as £100 here. This calculator does not ask about Gift Aid, so if you give regularly your real charge will be a little lower than it shows.
Recent changes
-
The thresholds rose for the first time since the charge began: the lower threshold to £60,000, the upper to £80,000, and the step that recovers one percentage point to £200.
Sources
- High Income Child Benefit Charge (GOV.UK)
- Child Benefit rates (GOV.UK)
- Adjusted net income (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance credits (GOV.UK)
Disclaimer
Not financial advice. The figures above follow from the income details you entered and assume they are complete for the tax year shown. Adjusted net income can include items this page does not ask about, Gift Aid donations among them, and anything it does not know about will make your real charge lower than the figure here rather than higher. Check your own position with HMRC and consult a qualified adviser before making a decision based on these numbers.
