HMRC has issued a reminder to parents with a certain level of adjusted net income that they may still be able to claim Child Benefit. In a post on X, the UK tax authority said: "Just had a baby? Congratulations! If you or your partner earn between £60,000 and £80,000, you can still claim Child Benefit. Our new digital service lets you pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge through your salary – no tax return needed."
What is Child Benefit?
Child Benefit is a tax-free financial support payment from the Government for parents or guardians of a child under 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. It is worth £27.05 a week – or £1,406.60 a year – for the eldest or only child, and £17.90 a week for each additional child.
Claiming Child Benefit also comes with other advantages, including National Insurance credits that count towards your State Pension, and a National Insurance number for your child without them having to apply for one.
How the High Income Child Benefit Charge works
If you or your partner has an adjusted net income above the £60,000 limit, you can still claim Child Benefit, but you will have to pay back 1% of the benefit for every £200 over the £60,000 threshold. If your adjusted net income is £80,000 or more, you will have to pay all of the Child Benefit back.
This means the value of Child Benefit diminishes as your income approaches £80,000, but it is still worth applying for if your circumstances put you below that threshold, as you can keep some of it. Even if your adjusted net income is above £80,000, you can still be approved for Child Benefit and some of its advantages, such as National Insurance credits and the automatic National Insurance number, but not the payments.
Paying back the charge
Previously, paying back Child Benefit had to be done via a Self Assessment tax return. As HMRC's post notes, it is now clawed back automatically through the new digital service, removing some extra administrative work.
