The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is a tax charge which repays part of the child benefit received by high earners earning over £50,000 to a 100% repayment for those earning over £60.000. It applies to child benefit received from 7th January 2013.

Who does it affect?

You may need to pay a tax charge if:

• you have an individual income over £50,000
• and either you or your partner receive Child Benefit or 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 child.

What do you need to do?

If you are affected by the tax charge, you can:

• Stop receiving the Child Benefit (only recommended if you’re adjusted net income is over £60k). Follow this link for how to do this.
• Carry on receiving the benefit and pay any tax charge at the end of the tax year.

How to calculate adjusted net income?

It is important to realise that the income used to calculate the tax charge is your adjusted net income. You can use the calculator on Gov.uk to work out your adjusted income.

How to pay the tax charge

If the tax charge does apply to you, you will need to submit a self-assessment return to HMRC by 31st January following the end of the relevant tax year. Do not rely on HMRC writing to tell you that you need to submit a return as they may not realise you need to. Normal self-assessment penalties apply if returns are late or incorrect.

How much do you need to pay?

The charge is 1% of child benefit received for every £100 of income over £50,000 of adjusted net income. The charge will never be higher than the amount of child benefit received and if the income is over £60,000 the amount paid back to HMRC will be equal to the benefit received.

Rebecca Taylor ACMA