Child Benefit Calculator and Charge Guide

Child Benefit is a regular payment to help with the cost of raising children, and most families are eligible regardless of income. It's usually paid every four weeks and can add up to thousands of pounds over the years but if either you or your partner has an adjusted net income over £60,000, you may have to pay some or all of it back through the High Income Child Benefit Charge via Self Assessment.

Use this free calculator to check what you're entitled to and whether you're at risk of the charge. Those earning between £60,000–£80,000 will generally be better off claiming and paying part back rather than not claiming at all. For those above £80,000, you can register without receiving payments — keeping your National Insurance record intact while avoiding the charge — though it's still worth considering claiming since adjusted net income is assessed across the whole financial year and circumstances can change. My guide to making the most of Child Benefit covers this in more detail.

For those in the £60,000–£80,000 band, the High Income Child Benefit Charge creates a higher effective marginal tax rate (the more children, the more pronounced this is) which makes pension contributions particularly efficient if you have spare cash. My premium Child Benefit calculator can model this for your specific situation, and if your income is approaching £100,000 it's also worth knowing that threshold has separate, significant childcare consequences.

Written by Catherine, founder of Milk & Money, who swapped PhD research for childcare analytics.