Skip to main content
Income calculator

Child Benefit Tax Charge Calculator

Enter your income and how many children get Child Benefit to see how much of it you would pay back through the High Income Child Benefit Charge for 2026/27, 2025/26 or 2024/25.

Your income

Salary (after any pension paid through payroll or salary sacrifice), self-employed and rental profit, savings interest, dividends and any pension income. If you have a partner, use the higher earner's income.
What you paid into a personal pension or SIPP where the provider adds basic rate tax relief. Leave out workplace contributions taken through payroll. Enter 0 if none.
What you gave to charity with Gift Aid in the tax year. Enter 0 if none.

Your Child Benefit

Leave at 0 to use a full year at the weekly rate. Enter the amount paid if it started or stopped part way through the year, or for an exact figure.

This is an estimate. HMRC works the charge out from the Child Benefit actually paid in the tax year and your final adjusted net income.

How the charge is worked out

If your adjusted net income is over £60,000, you pay back 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of income over that amount. Once your income reaches £80,000, the charge is the whole of the Child Benefit.

  • Work out your adjusted net income for the tax year.
  • Take £60,000 off it and divide what is left by £200. Only whole steps count, so £399 over is still 1%.
  • Apply that percentage to the Child Benefit paid for the year. The law rounds the Child Benefit total, the percentage and the charge down to whole pounds.
Example: £70,000 adjusted net income, 2 children, full year
Income over £60,000
£10,000
Percentage of Child Benefit to pay back
50%
Child Benefit for the year
£2,337.40
High Income Child Benefit Charge
£1,168.00
Child Benefit you keep
£1,169.40

What counts as adjusted net income

Adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any Personal Allowance. It includes salary, self-employed profit, rental profit, pensions, savings interest and dividends.

  • Pension contributions paid through your employer's payroll (net pay or salary sacrifice) are already left out of your taxable pay, so use your pay after them.
  • Personal pension contributions where the provider claims basic rate relief for you come off grossed up: every £1 you pay takes £1.25 off your income.
  • Gift Aid donations come off in the same way: every £1 you give takes £1.25 off.
Other reliefs, such as trading losses or pension contributions you pay gross without relief at source, also reduce adjusted net income. This calculator does not ask for them, so take them off your income before you enter it.

Child Benefit rates

Weekly Child Benefit rates
Tax yearEldest or only childEach additional child
2026/27£27.05£17.90
2025/26£26.05£17.25
2024/25£25.60£16.95

The calculator multiplies the weekly rate by 52 weeks. The 2026/27 tax year has 53 Mondays, so a full year of payments can be one week more. If you know what was actually paid, enter it for an exact figure. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 17 October 2026.

Who pays the charge and how

  • Only one person pays: whichever partner has the higher adjusted net income, even if the other partner gets the Child Benefit.
  • You can pay it through Self Assessment, or through your tax code using HMRC's Pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge online service.
  • You can opt out of Child Benefit payments, or restart them, at any time.

Claiming Child Benefit still matters even if you choose not to be paid it. A claim can give National Insurance credits, which protect your right to the State Pension. You can claim and tick the option not to have the benefit paid.

What this calculator does not cover

  • Which partner pays. Run it with the higher earner's income.
  • Tax years before 2024/25, when the charge started at £50,000 and rose 1% for every £100.
  • Guardian's Allowance, which is not part of the charge.

Official sources

Questions

Frequently asked questions

At what income do you pay the Child Benefit tax charge?
When the higher earner's adjusted net income is over £60,000. The charge is 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 over that, and all of it from £80,000.
Is it worth claiming Child Benefit if I will pay it all back?
Claiming can give National Insurance credits that protect your right to the State Pension. You can claim and tick the option not to have the benefit paid, which still counts as a claim.
Do pension contributions reduce the charge?
Yes. They reduce your adjusted net income, which the charge is based on. Payroll and salary sacrifice contributions already come out of your taxable pay. Personal pension contributions with relief at source come off grossed up, so every £1 you pay takes £1.25 off.
Which partner pays the charge?
The partner with the higher adjusted net income, whoever gets the Child Benefit.
How is the charge rounded?
The law rounds the Child Benefit total, the percentage and the charge down to whole numbers, so only full £200 steps over £60,000 count.
Related calculators

Keep planning

Official sources

Last reviewed

Reviewed
Version 1.0.0

This calculator gives estimates for general information only. It is not financial or tax advice. Check GOV.UK guidance or get professional advice if you are unsure.