Higher income child benefit

Cbearb

Hello all!

first time poster so please go easy on me! 

I am about to start a new job next month on a salary £60k plus £4.5k car allowance. I haven’t been in the higher income area for child benefit before and I am really confused. From my salary I pay tax, NI, and a student loan and a post graduate loan as well, plus my 5% pension contribution through my employers scheme. 

I assume I will need to pay back some of my child benefit? But I cannot seem to find anything definitive as to what is deductible for the net figure and what isn’t.

Also, if I do have to pay, when do I register and when do I submit a tax return? Do I then make a payment to HMRC or do they adjust my tax code to recollect the money? 

Thank you so much in advance! 

Yours sincerely 

confused cbear! 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Cbearb said:

Hello all!

first time poster so please go easy on me! 

I am about to start a new job next month on a salary £60k plus £4.5k car allowance. I haven’t been in the higher income area for child benefit before and I am really confused. From my salary I pay tax, NI, and a student loan and a post graduate loan as well, plus my 5% pension contribution through my employers scheme. 

I assume I will need to pay back some of my child benefit? But I cannot seem to find anything definitive as to what is deductible for the net figure and what isn’t.

Also, if I do have to pay, when do I register and when do I submit a tax return? Do I then make a payment to HMRC or do they adjust my tax code to recollect the money? 

Thank you so much in advance! 

Yours sincerely 

confused cbear! 

Net income such as your take home pay isn't relevant for HICBC.

It's adjusted net income which is used.  And for most people that will be their taxable earnings plus any other taxable income such as interest less any Gift Aid payments and relief at source pension contributions (those here the pension company adds basic rate tax relief to your net contribution).

You need to find out which method is used to get the money into your pension.

Relief at source 
Net pay
Salary sacrifice

As far as paying it is possible to pay something upfront via your tax code but irrespective of that the final position is always determined when you file your Self Assessment return.

The government announced plans to change things in the future but at the moment the only way (other than being investigated by HMRC) you finalise things is by completing a Self Assessment return.

If, after filing your return, you owe less than £3,000 and filed the return by 30 December 2925 then you would be able to pay the tax (including any HICBC included in your Self Assessment liability) via your 2026-27 tax code.

Or you pay it direct to HMRC by 31 January 2026.

pjread

Yeah so the limits changed from this tax year - I believe it is now between 60-80k income that this is charged (was 50-60k until now). 

Assuming 2 kids you should receive £2,212.60 in child benefit.

If you earn (adjusted net income as Dazed_and_C0nfused rightly says) 80k+, you will need to pay £2,212.60 in HICBC.  If you can get to 60k or less, you pay zero.  Between these level's it's effectively another additional ~11% tax (with 2 kids), or ~6.5% for one.  

So given your income level, it's worth thinking about whether you can put enough in your pension to keep ANI under that 60k value to avoid paying this. Assuming your pension is salary sacrifice (check!) you're at 61.5k now (poss plus any other taxable benefits - private health?) so bumping up a few more percent would get you there.