High Income Child Benefit Charge calculator
Tax year 2026/27, for the whole UK. Shows child benefit for the year, the charge on adjusted net income above £60,000 and what is kept after it.
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High Income Child Benefit Charge
£1,191a year
- Child benefit for the year
- £2,382
- Kept after the charge
- £1,191
- Share charged
- 50%
50% of the child benefit is charged: 1% for every £200 of adjusted net income above £60,000.
Under 2027/28 as announced so far, the same inputs give £1,210.00 of charge, £19.00 more than in 2026/27. In 2027/28 the weekly rates are £28.00 and £18.55, against £27.05 and £17.90, and the year has 52 weeks of child benefit, against 53.
The working
| Line | Rate | On | A year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2,382.35 | gov.uk | |||
| £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child plus 1 × £17.90 for the other is £44.95 a week. A week counts in the tax year its Monday falls in, and 2026/27 has 53 of them: 53 × £44.95 = £2,382.35. | ||||
| £70,000.00 | gov.uk | |||
| £70,000.00 is £10,000.00 above the £60,000 where the charge starts. | ||||
| 50% | £10,000.00 | £1,191.00 | gov.uk | |
| 1% for every £200 above £60,000: £10,000.00 ÷ £200 = 50, rounded down to 50%. | ||||
| 50% | £2,382.00 | −£1,191.00 | gov.uk | |
| The child benefit is rounded down to £2,382.00. 50% of it is £1,191.00, rounded down to £1,191.00. | ||||
| £1,191.35 | ||||
| £2,382.35 − £1,191.00 = £1,191.35. | ||||
- The partner with the higher adjusted net income pays the charge. It is collected through a tax code or Self Assessment.
How this is calculated
- Child benefit for the year. £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child plus £17.90 for each other child, for each week whose Monday falls in the tax year: 53 in 2026/27.
- The percentage. Adjusted net income above £60,000, divided by £200 and rounded down to a whole number, up to 100% at £80,000.
- The charge. The child benefit rounded down to a whole pound, times the percentage, rounded down to a whole pound.
- What is kept. Child benefit for the year less the charge.
The rounding follows section 681C of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. The Child Benefit tax calculator on gov.uk applies the percentage before rounding the child benefit down, so its estimate can be a pound higher; the working notes it when the two differ. The other rounding conventions are in the methodology.
Rules used
- Tax year
- 2026/27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027)
- Nation
- England and Northern Ireland
- Figures
- Checked between 7 November 2026 and 9 November 2026. Status: in force.
- Next scheduled change
- 6 April 2027
- Every figure
- Rates and allowances for 2026/27, each with its source and the date it was checked.
- Sources used
- Child benefit rates, checked 7 November 2026
- Child benefit tax charge, checked 7 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/1/section/681H, checked 9 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/1/section/681C, checked 9 November 2026
What changes on 6 April 2027
Of the figures this result uses, 2 change in 2027/28.
| Figure | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child benefit, eldest or only child, weekly | £27.05 | £28.00 | gov.uk | Announced |
| Child benefit, each additional child, weekly | £17.90 | £18.55 | gov.uk | Announced |
Switch the tax year in the form to see the result under 2027/28 as announced so far. The Budget 2026 page lists every measure, including those that do not touch this result.
What this does not do. It assumes child benefit is paid for every child for the whole tax year at the standard rates, and does not model a claim that starts or stops part way through, Guardian's Allowance, or how the charge is collected. It takes adjusted net income as entered. It never suggests whether to claim or opt out.
Questions people ask
- How much child benefit do I pay back if I earn over £60,000?
- 1% of the child benefit for every £200 of adjusted net income above £60,000. With two children in 2026/27, child benefit is £2,382.35 for the year. At £70,000 the charge is 50% of it, £1,191, leaving £1,191.35.
- At what income is all child benefit paid back?
- At £80,000 of adjusted net income or more the charge equals the whole of the child benefit. Between £60,000 and £80,000 part of it is kept. Below £60,200 nothing is charged, because the percentage is rounded down to a whole number.
- How much is child benefit in 2026/27?
- £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each other child. A week counts in the tax year its Monday falls in, and 2026/27 has 53 of them, so the year's total is £1,433.65 for one child and £2,382.35 for two.
- What is adjusted net income?
- Total taxable income before the personal allowance: pay, profits, pensions, savings interest, dividends and rental income, plus taxable benefits from a job. Pension contributions and Gift Aid donations are taken off, grossed up where the provider or charity has already claimed basic rate tax. It is the income of one person, never the household.
- Whose income counts for the charge?
- The charge falls on whichever partner has the higher adjusted net income, if it is above £60,000, whoever claims the child benefit. Two partners each on £60,000 pay nothing; one partner above £80,000 pays it all back whatever the other earns. Enter the higher of the two incomes.
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