Child Benefit Update

Did you know from April 2024 the High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold is increasing to £60,000?

Child benefit will no longer be fully withdrawn until individuals have an income of at least £80,000. By April 2026 it is forecast that the High Income Child Benefit Charge will apply on a household rather than an individual basis.

This means from April 6^th 2024 anyone with earnings of no more than £60,000 keeps all their child benefit. For each £200 of income over the new threshold people will lose 1% of the child benefit. For example, someone earning £70,000 will lose 50% of the child benefit they are entitled to, while someone on £75,000 will lose 75%.

In monetary terms, if someone is earning £70,000 with x2 children, in 2024-2025 they will now get to keep £1,106 that would otherwise have to be repaid under past conditions.

Please note, until April 2026 if a member of the household earns more than £80,000 a year, nobody in the household is eligible!

So, if you opted out of receiving child benefit in the past to avoid being penalised – i.e. you were earning £60,000 plus, you may now need to look at whether you should restart your child benefit payments.

To do this, you should either fill in an online form or contact the Child Benefit Office, You will need a Government Gateway user ID and password to fill in the online form.