Child Benefit Calculator 2026-27

Child Benefit for 2026/27 is £27.05 per week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 per week for each additional child, which works out at £1,406.60 and £930.80 a year respectively. Payments normally arrive every 4 weeks, although single parents and people on certain benefits can ask to be paid weekly. The money is tax-free unless either parent earns over £60,000. A child qualifies until 16, or until 20 while in full-time non-advanced education or approved unpaid training that they were accepted onto before turning 19. Non-advanced education means courses such as A levels, T levels, GCSEs, Scottish Highers and NVQs or most vocational qualifications up to Level 3. Advanced education does not count, so university degrees, foundation degrees, HNCs, HNDs and access or foundation courses are excluded, and neither does an apprenticeship. Payments stop automatically on 31 August on or after the child's 16th birthday unless you tell HMRC that the child is staying in approved education or training.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) applies when the higher-earning parent has income between £60,000 and £80,000. You repay 1% of the Child Benefit received for every £200 of income above £60,000, so at £80,000 or above the full amount is effectively clawed back through tax. The percentage is rounded down to a whole number, so part of a £200 step does not count, and the charge is rounded down to the whole pound. The threshold was raised in April 2024; before that the band ran from £50k to £60k. The charge is paid by the higher earner through Self Assessment or, for employed people, through their tax code, even if their partner is the one receiving the Child Benefit, and the two parents' incomes are never added together. What counts is adjusted net income, meaning income after pension contributions and Gift Aid.

Because the test uses adjusted net income, pension contributions reduce the bill. Inside the £60,000 to £80,000 band, every £200 taken off adjusted net income removes 1% of the charge, which with two children is about £23 (roughly £11.69 for every £100), on top of the income tax relief on the contribution itself. A higher earner on £70,000 who pays an extra £1,000 gross into a pension brings adjusted net income down to £69,000, so the charge falls from 50% to 45%, or from £1,168 to £1,051, saving £117 of HICBC as well as £400 of tax relief at 40%. Above £80,000 a contribution saves nothing on the charge until it takes adjusted net income below £80,000. Salary sacrifice for pensions cuts gross salary and the charge at the same time. The calculator asks for the number of children and the higher earner's income, works out the annual benefit, then applies the 1% per £200 rule to show how much is repaid and how much you keep. With two children and a higher earner on £70,000, the annual benefit of £2,337.40 carries a 50% charge of £1,168, leaving £1,169.40.

You should still claim Child Benefit even if HICBC will take all of it back. Registering gives the at-home parent automatic National Insurance credits towards the State Pension while they have a child under 12, and it registers the child for a National Insurance number at 16. Without a claim, each missing NI year permanently reduces the State Pension by £6.89 per week in 2026/27, and a surviving partner cannot claim those years retrospectively. Roughly 200,000 parents a year are affected. Ticking 'don't pay me' on the claim form keeps the credits without the payments, so there is no charge to settle and no Self Assessment complication.

Claims are made on form CH2 online at gov.uk/child-benefit or through the HMRC app. You will need the child's birth certificate, your National Insurance number, your partner's NI number if you have one, and your bank details. A first claim takes 6-12 weeks to process; adding another child is quicker. Where both parents live together only one can claim, usually the mother, and switching the claimant later means writing to HMRC and waiting 8-10 weeks. Claims can be backdated by a maximum of 3 months from the claim date, so register early rather than waiting for the paperwork to settle.

Child Benefit sits alongside other support without cancelling it out. It does not reduce Universal Credit directly, and UC has its own child element on top. It has no effect on free school meals, free childcare or NHS prescriptions. Tax credits ended on 5 April 2025, and their claimants moved to Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Some councils do count Child Benefit as income when working out Council Tax Reduction, so check your local scheme. The benefit itself is not taxable income on your tax return; the HICBC is a separate charge calculated on the higher earner's adjusted net income, not on the benefit.