Questions and Answers
Will I need to pay tax on child benefit income?
My husband and I both work and I am receiving child benefit for our son. Someone has told me about the ‘High Income Child Benefit Charge’. I’m worried I’m going to have to pay tax on the income, please could you help?
Last updated 2 Mar 2026 | First published 8 Nov 2023
By Helen Wood, CA 1 min read
If you or your partner are in receipt of child benefit and one of you has an individual income that’s over £60,000 you will have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge. It does not matter if the child living with you is not your own child.
To work out if your income is over the threshold, you will need to work out your ‘adjusted net income’. Adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any allowances and some other specific deductions. Your total taxable income includes interest from savings and dividends. Use the Child Benefit tax calculator on HMRC's website to get an estimate of your adjusted net income.
If your adjusted net income is more than £60,000 and so is your partner’s, then whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the tax charge.
If your income is over £60,000, you can choose to:
- receive Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year. To pay the charge you must register for self-assessment and report it on your tax return
- opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge
If you choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments you should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments. You need to fill in the claim form if you want to receive National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension and for your child to receive a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they’ll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old.
Last updated 2 Mar 2026 | First published 8 Nov 2023
This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.
Helen Wood, CA
Helen is a qualified chartered accountant (CA) and joined TaxAssist in 2025 following three years as a freelance content writer for clients in the tax and accounting publishing sector. Prior to this, She spent 17 years at Big Four and Top 10 accountancy firms. Helen writes clear and helpful articles on tax and accounting for businesses and individuals.
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