High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold stays at £60,000
The April 2024 reform that lifted the HICBC threshold from £50,000 to £60,000 is now baked in, with no change for 2026/27.
By Money Guide editorial team
Published:
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) threshold remains at £60,000 for 2026/27, with the full charge clawing back all Child Benefit at £80,000. The 2024 reform that raised the starting point from £50,000 has not been further extended.
Even where the charge applies, it is almost always worth claiming Child Benefit. The non-earning partner picks up National Insurance credits towards the State Pension, and HICBC can be reduced or eliminated by pension contributions that lower 'adjusted net income'.
Salary sacrifice into a workplace pension is particularly effective: it both increases retirement savings and reduces the adjusted net income figure used to calculate HICBC.
Households with one earner on £80,000 can lose all their Child Benefit; a household with two earners both on £59,000 keeps it in full. The Treasury has consulted on moving to a household-income basis but no change is currently scheduled.