HICBC 2026/27: Why Some Higher Earners Should Opt Back Into Child Benefit
How the High Income Child Benefit Charge works in 2026/27, why some families who opted out should reconsider, and how the charge can now be collected through PAYE instead of Self Assessment.
How the taper works
| Adjusted net income | HICBC clawback |
|---|---|
| Up to £60,000 | 0% — full Child Benefit kept |
| £60,000–£80,000 | 1% per £200 above £60,000 |
| £80,000+ | 100% — fully clawed back |
Child Benefit Calculator (with HICBC)
Calculate UK Child Benefit for 2025/26 and the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) if any household earner is over £60,000.
Open Child Benefit calculatorWorked example: £70,000 income, two children
At £70,000 adjusted net income, £10,000 above the £60,000 threshold:
- Taper: £10,000 ÷ £200 = 50 × 1% = 50% clawback
- Annual Child Benefit for two children: £2,337.40
- HICBC charge: 50% × £2,337.40 = £1,168.70
- Net amount kept: £1,168.70
A family in this position who had opted out entirely to avoid the charge is giving up over £1,100 a year compared to claiming and paying the (now PAYE-collectable) charge.
Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Calculate income tax, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance for self-employed and sole traders for 2025/26.
Open Self-Employed Tax calculatorWhy opting back in usually makes sense below £80,000
The only households genuinely indifferent to opting out are those with income at or above £80,000, where the charge equals the full Child Benefit amount anyway. Below that, opting out simply forfeits money for no benefit — and since HICBC no longer requires registering for Self Assessment purely to pay it (a PAYE tax code adjustment can be used instead for employees), the administrative reason many families gave for opting out no longer applies as strongly.
The often-overlooked National Insurance credit angle
Beyond the cash value, claiming Child Benefit (rather than not claiming at all) protects the claiming parent's State Pension National Insurance record through automatic credits if they're not working, or earning below the NI threshold — a benefit that has nothing to do with the HICBC charge itself and is easy to overlook when weighing up whether claiming is "worth it".
Sources
- gov.uk: High Income Child Benefit Charge
- HMRC: paying HICBC through your tax code
- gov.uk: Child Benefit rates
Frequently asked questions
What is the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC)?
HICBC is a tax charge that claws back Child Benefit from households where the higher earner has an adjusted net income above £60,000 for 2026/27. The charge is 1% of the Child Benefit received for every £200 of income above £60,000, reaching 100% (fully clawed back) at £80,000.
Why would a family opt out of Child Benefit if they're above the threshold?
Some higher-earning families choose to stop receiving Child Benefit payments entirely to avoid needing to declare and repay the charge later, particularly if they don't want the administrative task of reporting it. However, this means giving up the payment upfront rather than receiving it and repaying part or all of it via the charge — for a family just above £80,000, opting out forfeits money that would otherwise be fully clawed back anyway, but for a family between £60,000 and £80,000, they'd keep a meaningful net amount.
Can HICBC now be paid without filing a Self Assessment return?
Yes. Since 2024, HMRC has allowed employed higher earners who are liable for HICBC to opt to pay the charge directly through their PAYE tax code, rather than needing to register for and file a Self Assessment return purely because of the charge. This removed a major administrative barrier that previously put many families off claiming Child Benefit at all.
Why should someone who previously opted out consider opting back in?
Opting out of receiving Child Benefit payments (while still technically 'claiming' for National Insurance credit purposes) doesn't cost anything if income is above £80,000, since the charge would claw back the full amount anyway. But for households with income between £60,000 and £80,000, opting out means giving up money that would only be partially clawed back — restarting payments (and paying the smaller charge through PAYE) generally leaves the family better off.
Does claiming Child Benefit have a benefit beyond the money itself?
Yes — claiming Child Benefit (even if the payments are later fully or partially clawed back via HICBC) protects the claiming parent's National Insurance record by awarding credits toward their State Pension if they're not working or earning below the National Insurance threshold, and it ensures the child is automatically issued a National Insurance number ahead of turning 16. This is why HMRC recommends claiming and opting out of payments, rather than not claiming at all, for anyone who might stop working or reduce hours in future.
How is adjusted net income calculated for HICBC purposes?
Adjusted net income is total taxable income (salary, bonuses, benefits-in-kind, rental and investment income) minus specific deductions including gross pension contributions and Gift Aid donations. Increasing pension contributions can reduce adjusted net income below the £60,000 or £80,000 thresholds, reducing or eliminating the charge — a widely used planning strategy.
Who has to pay the charge — the higher earner or the one who claims Child Benefit?
The charge applies to whichever partner in the household has the higher adjusted net income above £60,000, regardless of who actually claims and receives the Child Benefit payments — so even if one partner claims the benefit, the other (higher-earning) partner may be the one liable for the HICBC charge.
What happens if both partners earn above £60,000?
The charge is based on whichever partner has the higher individual income, not the combined household income — so a couple each earning £55,000 (combined £110,000) pays no HICBC at all, while a single-earner household on £70,000 does pay the charge, which is a frequently criticised feature of how the charge is structured.
How much Child Benefit is at stake for a typical two-child family in 2026/27?
For 2026/27, Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the first child and £17.90 a week for each additional child — for two children, that's £44.95 a week, or £2,337.40 a year, which is the amount potentially at stake for a family navigating the HICBC threshold.
Should a family right at £60,000 income bother claiming Child Benefit?
Yes, generally — at exactly £60,000 adjusted net income, the HICBC charge is 0%, meaning the full Child Benefit amount is kept with no clawback at all, and even a small amount above £60,000 only claws back a small proportion (1% per £200), so claiming remains worthwhile well into the taper unless income is close to £80,000.
Try the calculators
Child Benefit Calculator (with HICBC)
Calculate UK Child Benefit for 2025/26 and the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) if any household earner is over £60,000.
Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Calculate income tax, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance for self-employed and sole traders for 2025/26.
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