What is the HICBC threshold for 2026/27?

For 2026/27, the High Income Child Benefit Charge starts when the highest earner's adjusted net income exceeds £60,000 and reaches 100% clawback at £80,000. Between those two figures the charge tapers at 1% of the Child Benefit received per £200 of income above £60,000. These thresholds were raised from £50,000/£60,000 in April 2024 and have stayed flat for 2025/26 and 2026/27 with no announced change.

Whose income counts for HICBC - mine or my partner's?

Only the higher earner's adjusted net income (ANI) counts. If you earn £45,000 and your partner earns £75,000, your partner pays the full HICBC even if you are the one who claims Child Benefit. Couples are not added together for the threshold check, which is why HICBC has been criticised as unfair to single-earner households who lose out vs dual-earner couples earning more in total.

What income counts towards the £60,000 HICBC threshold?

Adjusted net income (ANI), not gross salary. ANI = total taxable income (salary, self-employment, rental, investment, pension) MINUS pension contributions you made from your own money, MINUS Gift Aid donations grossed up, MINUS trading losses brought forward. So a £70,000 gross salary with £10,000 of personal pension contributions has an ANI of £60,000 - exactly at the HICBC entry threshold.

Do pension contributions reduce HICBC?

Yes - and this is the most powerful HICBC mitigation lever. Every £1 of personal pension contribution reduces your adjusted net income by £1, lowering or eliminating the HICBC. A £75,000 earner who pays £15,000 into a pension drops their ANI to £60,000 and avoids HICBC entirely - while also getting 40% income tax relief on the contribution. Salary sacrifice pensions reduce gross pay before HMRC ever sees it, achieving the same outcome with extra NI savings.

How much HICBC will I pay at £70,000 income with two children?

Two children attract Child Benefit of around £2,337/year for 2026/27 (£27.05/wk first child + £17.90/wk second child × 52). At £70,000 ANI, you are halfway between £60k and £80k, so HICBC = 50% × £2,337 = £1,169 owed via self-assessment. Your partner still receives the full Child Benefit into their bank account - the charge is collected separately from the higher earner.

Should I opt out of Child Benefit if I'm above £80,000?

Usually no - keep claiming and tick 'do not pay' on the form. Continuing to claim protects the non-working partner's National Insurance credits towards State Pension (worth ~£330/year retirement income for each year claimed under age 12 of the youngest child). If you opt out completely you lose those NI credits. The only case to fully opt out is if neither parent needs the NI credits, which is rare.

What happens if I forget to declare HICBC on self-assessment?

HMRC has automated detection - they cross-reference Child Benefit claims with PAYE/SA income data. If you owe HICBC and don't file Self Assessment, expect a 'failure to notify' letter, the back-tax owed, daily-rate interest, and a penalty of 0-30% (or up to 100% for deliberate concealment). The simplest fix is to register for Self Assessment by 5 October following the tax year you first crossed the threshold.

Child Benefit Tax (HICBC) 2026/27: £60k Earners, What You Pay

HICBC 2026/27 - if you or your partner earn £60,000+ and claim Child Benefit, the charge starts clawing it back. £60k-£80k taper mechanics, what you actually pay, and how pension contributions cut the charge to zero.

If anyone in your household claims Child Benefit and the highest earner has adjusted net income (ANI) above £60,000, some or all of the benefit is clawed back through the High Income Child Benefit Charge — or HICBC. This guide covers the 2026/27 rules, the April 2024 reform that lifted the thresholds, and the levers you can pull to reduce or eliminate the charge.

The HICBC thresholds for 2026/27

Threshold	Amount	What happens
Lower	£60,000	HICBC starts — 1% of Child Benefit for every £200 over
Upper	£80,000	Full clawback — 100% of the benefit recovered as HICBC

Between the two thresholds the charge tapers linearly:

HICBC = Child Benefit received × (ANI − £60,000) ÷ £20,000

Rounded up to the nearest whole pound per £200 step.

These thresholds were raised from £50,000/£60,000 to £60,000/£80,000 in April 2024 (Spring Budget 2024) and have held flat through 2025/26 and 2026/27. There’s no announced change coming.

Who pays the HICBC: the charge is paid by the highest earner in the household above the £60,000 threshold, whether or not they personally claim the Child Benefit. Only one person pays — the partner with the higher ANI, calculated at the end of the tax year through self-assessment.

Adjusted net income — what actually counts

The £60,000 threshold isn’t gross salary. It’s adjusted net income (ANI) — HMRC’s specific measure:

Gross income from all sources (salary, self-employment, rental, investment, pension, etc.)
Minus pension contributions you make from your own money (relief at source gross-up, or net pay arrangement)
Minus Gift Aid donations (grossed-up)
Minus trading losses carried forward
Plus chargeable event gains on life insurance policies
Plus pre-tax investment income

Key implication: pension contributions directly reduce ANI. A £10,000 salary sacrifice pension contribution pulls your ANI down by £10,000, potentially taking you out of the HICBC band entirely.

Worked examples for 2026/27

Example 1 — salary £65,000, two children

Child Benefit 2026/27 rates (gov.uk): £27.05/week eldest + £17.90/week each additional = £44.95/week = £2,337.40/year.

ANI £65,000 → £5,000 over the £60,000 threshold
Steps: £5,000 ÷ £200 = 25 steps of 1% = 25% of benefit clawed back
HICBC: 25% × £2,337.40 = £584.35
Net household gain from Child Benefit: £2,337.40 − £584.35 = £1,753.05

Example 2 — salary £75,000, one child

Benefit: £27.05/week × 52 = £1,406.60/year.

ANI £75,000 → £15,000 over
75% clawback: £15,000 ÷ £200 = 75 × 1% = 75%
HICBC: 75% × £1,406.60 = £1,054.95
Net gain: £1,406.60 − £1,054.95 = £351.65

Example 3 — salary £82,000, one child

ANI above £80,000 → 100% clawback. You lose the full £1,406.60 benefit through the HICBC. At this level, Child Benefit and its clawback perfectly cancel — you still get the cash during the year, but self-assessment claws it all back.

Example 4 — mitigate with pension

Same person as example 2 (£75,000 salary, one child) puts £15,000 into a workplace pension via salary sacrifice.

Gross salary: £75,000
Pension sacrifice: −£15,000
ANI: £60,000 — exactly on the lower threshold
HICBC: £0
Pension contribution also saves Income Tax (40% relief) and NI (8% relief)
Net take-home vs the no-pension scenario drops less than the £15,000 gross amount would suggest

Real numbers for your salary on the pension calculator — the HICBC effect is baked into the take-home calculation when Child Benefit is entered.

Opting out of Child Benefit

If your ANI is firmly above £80,000 you can either:

Keep claiming and pay back 100% through HICBC — completes one self-assessment each year.
Opt out of payments but keep the claim registered — HMRC still records your Child Benefit, you keep your National Insurance credits (important for state pension if you’re a stay-at-home parent), and you don’t need to file self-assessment for HICBC.

Option 2 is usually better for simplicity if you’re nowhere near the lower threshold and don’t plan to drop back below £80,000 soon.

You can reverse the opt-out at any time via gov.uk/child-benefit or by contacting HMRC.

When HICBC is due

HICBC is paid via Self-Assessment. HMRC has said from 2025/26 onwards, some people can opt to pay HICBC through their PAYE tax code instead — check your Personal Tax Account for the option.

For 2026/27:

The charge relates to the April 2026 – April 2027 tax year
Register for self-assessment by 5 October 2027
File the return and pay by 31 January 2028

Miss the deadlines and HMRC can charge interest and late-filing penalties — even if you’ve had Child Benefit for years without needing a tax return.

Mitigation strategies

Pension contributions — the most effective lever. Every £1 contributed to a pension reduces ANI by £1, directly reducing HICBC (and saving Income Tax + NI if salary sacrifice).

Gift Aid — donations to registered charities count. A £1,000 Gift Aid donation reduces ANI by £1,250 (the grossed-up amount).

Carry-forward pension allowance — if you’ve under-used the £60,000 Annual Allowance in the past 3 years, you can carry forward unused amounts and make a larger single contribution this year.

Salary sacrifice for benefits — electric vehicle schemes, cycle-to-work, childcare vouchers all reduce gross pay and therefore ANI.

Timing bonuses / share vesting — if you can push a big payment into a tax year when your ANI would otherwise be lower, the HICBC impact shrinks.

Common edge cases

Separated parents: the partner who lives with the child most of the time claims the Child Benefit, but only the highest earner in that household pays HICBC. A partner outside the household earning £200,000 doesn’t trigger HICBC.
Cohabiting couples: same rule — both partners’ income is compared, the highest pays.
Income variation year-to-year: ANI is calculated per tax year in isolation. A one-off bonus that pushes you over £80,000 triggers full HICBC just for that year.
New parents mid-year: if you qualify for Child Benefit partway through the tax year, the HICBC is pro-rata for the months you actually received it.

Salary calculator — enter Annual Child Benefit under “More options” and the HICBC effect is included in the take-home breakdown
Pension contribution calculator — model salary sacrifice vs HICBC
Methodology page — our HICBC algorithm + sources
gov.uk — HICBC — HMRC’s official guidance page

Frequently asked questions

What is the HICBC threshold for 2026/27?: For 2026/27, the High Income Child Benefit Charge starts when the highest earner's adjusted net income exceeds £60,000 and reaches 100% clawback at £80,000. Between those two figures the charge tapers at 1% of the Child Benefit received per £200 of income above £60,000. These thresholds were raised from £50,000/£60,000 in April 2024 and have stayed flat for 2025/26 and 2026/27 with no announced change.
Whose income counts for HICBC - mine or my partner's?: Only the higher earner's adjusted net income (ANI) counts. If you earn £45,000 and your partner earns £75,000, your partner pays the full HICBC even if you are the one who claims Child Benefit. Couples are not added together for the threshold check, which is why HICBC has been criticised as unfair to single-earner households who lose out vs dual-earner couples earning more in total.
What income counts towards the £60,000 HICBC threshold?: Adjusted net income (ANI), not gross salary. ANI = total taxable income (salary, self-employment, rental, investment, pension) MINUS pension contributions you made from your own money, MINUS Gift Aid donations grossed up, MINUS trading losses brought forward. So a £70,000 gross salary with £10,000 of personal pension contributions has an ANI of £60,000 - exactly at the HICBC entry threshold.
Do pension contributions reduce HICBC?: Yes - and this is the most powerful HICBC mitigation lever. Every £1 of personal pension contribution reduces your adjusted net income by £1, lowering or eliminating the HICBC. A £75,000 earner who pays £15,000 into a pension drops their ANI to £60,000 and avoids HICBC entirely - while also getting 40% income tax relief on the contribution. Salary sacrifice pensions reduce gross pay before HMRC ever sees it, achieving the same outcome with extra NI savings.
How much HICBC will I pay at £70,000 income with two children?: Two children attract Child Benefit of around £2,337/year for 2026/27 (£27.05/wk first child + £17.90/wk second child × 52). At £70,000 ANI, you are halfway between £60k and £80k, so HICBC = 50% × £2,337 = £1,169 owed via self-assessment. Your partner still receives the full Child Benefit into their bank account - the charge is collected separately from the higher earner.
Should I opt out of Child Benefit if I'm above £80,000?: Usually no - keep claiming and tick 'do not pay' on the form. Continuing to claim protects the non-working partner's National Insurance credits towards State Pension (worth ~£330/year retirement income for each year claimed under age 12 of the youngest child). If you opt out completely you lose those NI credits. The only case to fully opt out is if neither parent needs the NI credits, which is rare.
What happens if I forget to declare HICBC on self-assessment?: HMRC has automated detection - they cross-reference Child Benefit claims with PAYE/SA income data. If you owe HICBC and don't file Self Assessment, expect a 'failure to notify' letter, the back-tax owed, daily-rate interest, and a penalty of 0-30% (or up to 100% for deliberate concealment). The simplest fix is to register for Self Assessment by 5 October following the tax year you first crossed the threshold.