Is it worth claiming Child Benefit if I earn over £60,000?

Earning over £60,000 does not make Child Benefit pointless — and opting out of claiming altogether is usually a mistake.

How the High Income Child Benefit Charge works

Child Benefit itself is not means-tested: it pays £27.05 a week for your eldest or only child and £17.90 for each additional child (2026/27). But if you or your partner has adjusted net income over £60,000, the higher earner becomes liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC):

• Between £60,000 and £80,000, you repay 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of income above £60,000. At £70,000, for example, you keep half.
• Above £80,000, the charge equals the full Child Benefit amount.

The charge falls on the higher earner even if the other partner is the claimant, and it is collected through Self Assessment.

Why you should claim anyway

Registering the claim — even if you then opt out of receiving payments — brings benefits the charge never takes away:

• National Insurance credits for a child under 12, each counting as a qualifying year towards your State Pension. A stay-at-home parent who never claims can end up with damaging gaps in their NI record.
• Your child's NI number is issued automatically at 16 because the claim is on record.

If your income is between £60,000 and £80,000, taking the payments and repaying part through Self Assessment usually still leaves you better off. If you are above £80,000, the cleanest option is to claim but opt out of payments: you keep the NI credits and record-keeping benefits without the annual Self Assessment admin.

Note that "adjusted net income" is after pension contributions and Gift Aid, so pension saving can bring you back under the threshold. And unlike the Universal Credit child element, Child Benefit is not subject to the two-child limit — claim for every qualifying child, up to age 16 or up to 20 in approved education or training.