You may have to pay a tax charge, known as the 'High Income Child Benefit Charge', if you have an individual income over £50,000 and either:

• you or your partner get Child Benefit
• someone else gets Child Benefit for a child living with you and they contribute at least an equal amount towards the child’s upkeep

It doesn’t matter if the child living with you is not your own child.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to work out if you're affected by the tax charge.

If you’re affected by the tax charge

You can choose not to get Child Benefit payments, but you should still register for Child Benefit to help you get National Insurance credits - these count towards your State Pension.

Already getting Child Benefit

You can either:

• stop getting Child Benefit - sometimes known as 'opting out'
• carry on getting Child Benefit and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year

What counts as income

To work out if your income is over the threshold, you'll need to work out your ‘adjusted net income’.

Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any personal allowances and less things like Gift Aid.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get help with your adjusted net income.

Who pays the tax charge

Your partner will be responsible for paying the tax charge if their income is more than £50,000 and higher than yours.

‘Partner’ means someone you’re not permanently separated from who you’re married to, in a civil partnership with or living with as if you were.

How and when to pay

You must fill in a Self Assessment tax return each tax year to pay the tax charge.

1. Register for Self Assessment (if you don't already fill in a tax return) - so you can send a tax return.

2. Complete the tax return and declare (include) the amount of Child Benefit received for the tax year. Use the Child Benefit tax charge calculator to work this out.

3. Send the tax return.

4. Pay the tax you owe.

Deadlines

There are deadlines to register for Self Assessment, send the tax return and pay the tax. You may have to pay a penalty if you miss them.

Pay through your PAYE tax code

You may be able to pay your Self Assessment tax bill through your PAYE tax code if you owe less than £3,000. The tax you owe is deducted from your salary or pension.

You must still complete a tax return if you choose to pay the tax charge through your tax code.

How much to pay

The tax charge is 1% of the Child Benefit received for every £100 that your individual income is over £50,000.

You’ll never pay more than the amount of Child Benefit you’ve received for a tax year.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to work out your tax charge - you must pay any money you owe.

If you can't get information from your partner or ex-partner

You can ask HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) whether your partner gets Child Benefit or has a higher adjusted net income than you using an online form. HMRC can only reply ‘yes or no’ (they won’t provide any financial information).

You can only do this if your income is more than £50,000 and you and your partner either:

• live together
• separated within the tax year you want the information for

You can either fill in the online form or contact the Child Benefit Office by phone or post to stop your Child Benefit.

Telephone: 0300 200 3100
Textphone: 0300 200 3103
Calling from abroad: +44 (0)161 210 3086
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 8am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

Child Benefit Office
PO Box 1
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE88 1AA

Only the person entitled to receive the benefit, their appointee or authorised agent can stop the payments.

You can’t stop your Child Benefit if you’re using it to pay back an overpayment (or to pay back certain other benefits from another country).

Responsibilities after your Child Benefit stops

You must pay any tax charge owed for each tax year up to the date your Child Benefit stops.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to work out what you owe each tax year and when it’s due.

Even after your payments stop, you must report any changes in your family life that affect your entitlement to Child Benefit.

You can restart your Child Benefit if:

• you’ve previously stopped it because of the tax charge
• you still qualify for Child Benefit

To restart your Child Benefit, either:

• fill out an online form
• contact the Child Benefit Office

Only the person who stopped the benefit, their appointee or authorised agent can restart the payments.

Payments usually start again the Monday after your request is received. The Child Benefit Office will write telling you how much backdated Child Benefit you’ll get (if any).

Responsibilities after your Child Benefit restarts

You (or your partner) will have to pay any tax charge on the benefit received from the restart date if your income is over £50,000.

You must report any changes to your family life that affect your Child Benefit.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to work out if you're affected by the tax charge.

Your income changes

You won’t have to pay the tax charge if your income for the whole of a tax year is less than £50,000.

You can choose to stop or restart your Child Benefit at any time. Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to work out how income changes affect the tax charge.

You have a new child

Claiming Child Benefit helps you qualify for:

• National Insurance Credits which protect your right to the State Pension
• other benefits like Guardian’s Allowance

Child Benefit proves you (or your partner) support another child. You may pay less child maintenance for children not living with you.

You can make a new claim or just protect your entitlement to the above by:

• sending a Child Benefit claim form
• ticking the option to ‘not have the benefit paid’

A partner moves in or out

Your situation may change if your income is more than £50,000 and you move in or split up with someone who's getting Child Benefit.

You'll have to pay the tax charge if your income is more than £50,000 and higher than your new partner's income. Your partner pays it if their income is higher.

The tax charge applies from the date you move in together to either the date you permanently separate or the Child Benefit stops - eg because the child is too old to qualify for it.

Short periods apart don't count as separation, eg a hospital stay or working away from home.