Estimate the High Income Child Benefit Charge from adjusted net income, number of children and annual Child Benefit amount.
Use this HICBC calculator to estimate how adjusted net income could affect Child Benefit. It shows the annual Child Benefit estimate, charge percentage, possible charge and amount remaining after the charge.
Enter adjusted net income rather than gross salary. Add a pension salary sacrifice to see how much of the charge it removes.
Inside the HICBC charge zone. The charge is worked out on adjusted net income, not gross salary. A salary sacrifice reduces that income pound for pound, and the charge then falls by 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 of income it removes. The charge can apply because of a partner's income, and whichever of you has the higher adjusted net income is the one who pays it.
Family-finance outputs are estimates only. They are not benefits, tax, legal, payroll, accounting or financial advice.
| Income status | Inside the HICBC charge zone |
|---|---|
| Lower threshold | £60,000 |
| Full clawback threshold | £80,000 |
| Income over threshold | £10,000 |
| Tax/source year | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Region | England/Wales/Northern Ireland |
| Tax code basis | 1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults |
| Pension basis | No pension deduction unless this example says otherwise |
| Student loan basis | No student loan unless selected in this example |
| What is not decided here | PayBreakdown does not decide payroll correctness, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employer compliance, and does not give regulated financial, mortgage, debt, tax, payroll or legal advice. |
|---|
The figures on this page are worked from HICBC, using the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.
The charge is a percentage of the Child Benefit received, rising with adjusted net income until it takes all of it. Each row is computed for the same number of children, so the columns are comparable. Adjusted net income is not gross salary: pension contributions and salary sacrifice reduce it, which is why the charge can be removed without a pay cut.
| Adjusted net income | Child Benefit, 2 children | Charge percentage | Charge | Child Benefit kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £60,000 | £2,337 | 0% | £0 | £2,337 |
| £65,000 | £2,337 | 25% | £584 | £1,753 |
| £70,000 | £2,337 | 50% | £1,169 | £1,169 |
| £75,000 | £2,337 | 75% | £1,753 | £584 |
| £80,000 | £2,337 | 100% | £2,337 | £0 |
The charge is based on adjusted net income, not simply gross salary. It can apply if the claimant or their partner is over the threshold, and the higher-income partner is normally responsible if both are above it.
The HICBC examples use adjusted net income scenarios from the lower threshold through full clawback, with two children as the published-rate assumption.
This estimate is worked out on £35,000 annual gross. Change any of those and the take-home figure moves; pension method and student loan plan usually move it most. A payslip can differ from any calculator because payroll works pay period by pay period, so a tax-code change, a bonus, arrears or a refund can land in one month and not the next. See how each deduction is worked out.
Check published rates, Personal Allowance taper and pension modelling context.
Adjusted net income drives the charge, and these are the tools that move it.
It estimates annual Child Benefit, the charge percentage, the possible annual charge and the remaining Child Benefit after the charge.
No. It is based on adjusted net income, which can differ from gross salary because of pension contributions, Gift Aid, benefits, other income and deductions.
Yes. The charge can apply if either the claimant or their partner exceeds the threshold. This page is an estimate only and does not decide liability.
A pension salary-sacrifice reduction can be modelled as an adjusted-income reduction here, but scheme availability, payroll treatment and wider effects need separate checks.
Last updated 2026-08-27. Checked by Sean Elsmore. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-07. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.