Opt out of Child Benefit payments

To opt out of Child Benefit payments, you can either: use the online service fill in an online form You’ll need to sign in to use the online service or fill in the online form. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them. You can also contact the Child Benefit Office by phone or post to opt out. You cannot use the online service or the online form if you’re an appointee or authorised agent . You cannot opt out of Child Benefit payments if you’re using them to pay back an overpayment or to pay back certain other benefits from another country. Responsibilities after you opt out of Child Benefit payments You must pay any tax charge owed for each tax year up to the date your Child Benefit payments stop. Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of how much you may owe each tax year. Even after you opt out of payments, you must report any changes in your family life that affect your entitlement to Child Benefit.

Restart your Child Benefit payments

You can restart your Child Benefit payments if: you’ve previously opted out because of the tax charge you still qualify for Child Benefit To restart your Child Benefit payments, either: use the online service fill in an online form You’ll need to sign in to use the online service or fill in the online form. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them. You can also contact the Child Benefit Office by phone or post to restart your Child Benefit payments. You cannot use the online service or the online form if you’re an appointee or authorised agent . When you’ll start getting payments After the Child Benefit Office gets your request, it can take up to 28 days before you get your first payment. The office will write to tell you how much money you’ll get from backdated payments (if any). Responsibilities after your Child Benefit restarts You or your partner will have to pay any tax charge on the benefit received from the restart date if your ‘adjusted net income’ is over the threshold . Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of your adjusted net income and see if you may be affected by the tax charge. You must report any changes to your family life that affect your Child Benefit.

If your circumstances change

Your income changes You will not have to pay the tax charge if your or your partner’s individual ‘adjusted net income’ for the whole of a tax year is below the threshold . Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of your adjusted net income changes and see if they may affect the tax charge. You can choose to opt out or restart your Child Benefit payments at any time. If your adjusted net income goes below the threshold and you no longer need to complete a Self Assessment tax return, you must tell HMRC . You’re paying through Self Assessment and no longer need to send a tax return If you no longer need to send a tax return for another reason , for example if you stop being self-employed - you can pay the tax charge through PAYE instead. Contact HMRC by phone if you need to close your Self Assessment account and want to start paying the tax charge through PAYE. You have a new child Claiming Child Benefit helps you qualify for: National Insurance credits, which protect your right to the State Pension other benefits like Guardian’s Allowance Child Benefit proves you (or your partner) support another child. You may pay less child maintenance for children not living with you. You can make a new claim or just protect your entitlement to the above by: + sending a Child Benefit claim form + ticking the option to ‘not have the benefit paid’ A partner moves in or out Your situation may change if your adjusted net income is over the threshold and you move in or split up with someone who’s getting Child Benefit. If both you and your partner have an individual income that’s over the threshold, then whoever has the higher adjusted net income is responsible for paying the charge. The tax charge applies from the date you move in together to either the date you permanently separate or the Child Benefit payments stop - for example because the child is too old to qualify for Child Benefit . Short periods apart do not count as separation, for example a hospital stay or working away from home.

High Income Child Benefit Charge

Overview

You may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge if you or your partner have an individual income that’s over the threshold and either:

you or your partner get Child Benefit
someone else gets Child Benefit for a child living with you and they contribute at least an equal amount towards the child’s upkeep

It does not matter if the child living with you is not your own child.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

The threshold

An individual income is over the threshold if it’s:

over £60,000 for tax years starting from 2024 to 2025
over £50,000 for tax years up to and including the tax year 2023 to 2024

What counts as income

To work out if your income is over the threshold, you’ll need to work out your ‘adjusted net income’.

Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any allowances and not including things like Gift Aid. Your total taxable income includes interest from savings and dividends.

Use the Child Benefit tax calculator to get an estimate of your adjusted net income.

Who pays the tax charge

If your adjusted net income is over the threshold and so is your partner’s, then whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the tax charge.

‘Partner’ means someone you’re not permanently separated from who you’re married to, in a civil partnership with or living with as if you were.

If your income is over the threshold

You can choose to either:

get Child Benefit payments and pay the tax charge
opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge

Find out what Child Benefit you’ll get.

Getting Child Benefit payments and paying the tax charge

You must pay the tax charge through Self Assessment if any of the following apply:

you need to send a tax return for another reason, for example to report income from savings
it’s later than 31 January in the year after the tax year you need to pay for

Otherwise you can choose whether to pay the tax charge through PAYE or through Self Assessment.

Opting out of Child Benefit payments

You should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments.

You need to fill in the claim form if you want to:

get National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension
get your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they’ll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old

If you’re already getting Child Benefit payments

You can choose to either:

opt out of getting Child Benefit payments
carry on getting Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge

View a printable version of the whole guide

High Income Child Benefit Charge

Overview

The threshold

What counts as income

Who pays the tax charge

If your income is over the threshold

Getting Child Benefit payments and paying the tax charge

Opting out of Child Benefit payments

If you’re already getting Child Benefit payments

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High Income Child Benefit Charge

Overview

The threshold

What counts as income

Who pays the tax charge

If your income is over the threshold

Getting Child Benefit payments and paying the tax charge

Opting out of Child Benefit payments

If you’re already getting Child Benefit payments

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