High income child benefit charge: what to do if your income falls

Impact on the high income child benefit charge if your income falls

Households may find themselves in a position where they face a fall in income. This may affect liability to the high income child benefit charge.

Note that liability to the charge is assessed according to adjusted net income for the tax year, even though child benefit is a weekly benefit.

For tax years from 2024/25 onwards, the relevant threshold at which the HICBC starts to apply is £60,000. Up to and including 2023/24, the threshold was £50,000. 

Particular scenarios (income reduces during the tax year)

Below we look at various scenarios where there is a reduction in a person's adjusted net income during the 2026/27 tax year and consider what impact this might have on the high income child benefit charge. 

Note that the scenarios below refer to the expected and actual annual adjusted net income in 2026/27 of the partner with the higher adjusted net income.

The scenarios also assume that there is no change in the relationship throughout the year or any change in which partner has the higher adjusted net income. If there is a change in the partner with the higher adjusted net income, please see below under the heading If your income is now higher than your partner's income.

Income reduces but remains above £80,000

In this case there is no effect on liability to the high income child benefit charge. The charge remains at 100% of the child benefit received.

Income reduces from above £80,000 to between £60,000 and £80,000

In this case, the high income child benefit charge becomes less than 100% of the child benefit claimed. If you have opted out of receiving payments, you may wish to restart them and backdate the payments (see below). If you are receiving child benefit payments, the partner with the higher adjusted income will need to pay the charge as normal.

If you are receiving child benefit, the partner with the higher adjusted net income in this situation would typically be paying the full high income child benefit charge. 

If they are paying the full charge via PAYE based on income in excess of £80,000, they should tell HMRC about the decrease in their income as soon as possible so that HMRC can make the necessary adjustment to their PAYE tax code – see GOV.UK. If they pay the charge via Self Assessment they do not need to do anything immediately – they should include the full amount of the child benefit received on their Self Assessment tax return to calculate their liability to the charge.

  Special rules apply to new claims for child benefit that were made from 6 April 2024 up to and including 7 July 2024 (see our main HICBC page under the heading New child benefit claims).

Income reduces from above £80,000 to below £60,000

In this case, the high income child benefit charge is eliminated completely. There is no charge for the child benefit received in the part of the tax year when the annual income was above £80,000. If you have previously opted out of receiving payments, you may wish to restart them and backdate the payments (see below). 

If you are receiving child benefit, the partner with the higher adjusted net income in this situation would typically be paying the full high income child benefit charge. 

If they are paying the full charge via PAYE based on income in excess of £80,000, they should tell HMRC about the decrease in their income as soon as possible so that HMRC can remove the charge from their tax code – see GOV.UK. If they usually pay the charge through Self Assessment and they do not need to file a tax return for any other reason,  they may wish to consider asking HMRC to withdraw the requirement to file a Self Assessment tax return if they no longer meet the criteria. 

  Special rules apply to new claims for child benefit that were made from 6 April 2024 up to and including 7 July 2024 (see our main HICBC page under the heading New child benefit claims).

Income reduces but remains between £60,000 and £80,000

In this case, the high income child benefit charge remains less than 100% of the child benefit claimed. The partner with the higher adjusted net income in this situation would typically be paying the high income child benefit charge either via their Self Assessment tax return or PAYE.

If an estimated charge is being collected via PAYE, they should tell HMRC about the decrease in their income as soon as possible so that HMRC can make the necessary adjustment to their PAYE tax code – see GOV.UK.

Income reduces from between £60,000 and £80,000 to below £60,000

In this case the partner with the higher adjusted net income will no longer be liable to the high income child benefit charge.

If the charge was being collected via PAYE, they should tell HMRC about the decrease in their income as soon as possible so that HMRC can remove the charge from their PAYE tax code – see GOV.UK.

If they pay the charge through Self Assessment and they do not need to file a tax return for any other reason, they may wish to consider asking HMRC to withdraw the requirement to file a Self Assessment tax return if they no longer meet the criteria.

If your income is now higher than your partner’s income

Remember that you should be comparing the adjusted net incomes for yourself and your partner over the whole tax year.

If your adjusted net income for the tax year is more than the relevant threshold (£60,000 from 2024/25, £50,000 up to and including 2023/24) and is higher than your partner’s, you will liable to pay any high income child benefit charge due in respect of child benefit received in the year.

If you already file a Self Assessment tax return you will need to include the child benefit you receive on your tax return each year to calculate your liability to the charge. If you don’t need to file a tax return you can choose whether to pay the charge via Self Assessment or PAYE. 

If your partner previously had higher income and paid the high income child benefit charge via Self Assessment, they should consider whether or not they still meet the criteria to file a Self Assessment tax return for the year in which they become liable to the charge. If a notice to file a return has been issued, it may be possible to get it withdrawn. If the charge is being collected from your partner through their PAYE tax code, they should tell HMRC about the change in your circumstances as soon as possible so that HMRC can remove the charge from their tax code – see GOV.UK.

If your partner has passed away

If your partner dies and had been the named claimant for child benefit, then it is important you notify HMRC as soon as possible after the death and ensure you make a new claim in your own name, assuming you qualify (i.e. you are the child’s main carer). You can read more about this on our page State benefits on death.

If the deceased was liable for the high income child benefit charge prior to their death, then it may still be applicable for your partner’s final tax return, depending on whether their adjusted net income from the start of the tax year up until the date of death exceeded the threshold for the year (£60,000 from tax year 2024/25, £50,000 for years up to 2023/24) and whether it was higher than your adjusted net income for the year. However, you should consider whether your partner’s adjusted net income for the year of death falls within one of the situations described in the table above. You may wish to consider reinstating payments (where you have opted out of receiving them) or otherwise making a new claim to child benefit if you had not previously done so.

Claiming child benefit

Refer to the guidance on GOV.UK. Note that new claims are backdated for up to 3 months (provided you are eligible for this period). 

Restarting payments after having opted out

Refer to the guidance on GOV.UK.

You can also request to reinstate payments for the two previous tax years, if applicable, by contacting the child benefit office via telephone. You should make a note of the date and time of the call and the information provided.