£27.05 a week for your first child, £17.90 for each after. But once the higher earner passes £60,000, a tax charge starts clawing it back, and most families never see it coming. Work out yours, and the pension move that can undo it.
Child Benefit for 2026/27 is £27.05 a week for the eldest child and £17.90 for each additional child. If the higher earner's adjusted net income passes £60,000, the High Income Child Benefit Charge takes back 1% of the year's benefit for every £200 over the line. At £80,000 it has taken back everything. The charge falls on the higher earner alone; two parents on £59,000 each keep every penny while one on £81,000 loses it all.
The part worth knowing: adjusted net income is income after pension contributions and Gift Aid. In the taper, a pension contribution gets 40% tax relief and restores 5% of your Child Benefit per £1,000 contributed, which is why the effective return on pension saving between £60,000 and £80,000 is among the highest available to anyone.
Sources: gov.uk Child Benefit rates and gov.uk High Income Child Benefit Charge (2026/27). Annualised at 52 weeks; HMRC's own figures work per payment week, so pounds may differ slightly.
Illustrative only, not financial or tax advice. Uses adjusted net income annualised over 52 weeks and assumes the higher earner is a rest-of-UK higher-rate taxpayer in the taper (Scottish rates differ; the Child Benefit rules are the same UK-wide). Not modelled: Guardian's Allowance, fostering and kinship arrangements, the charge where incomes change mid-year, and Universal Credit interactions. Pension money is normally locked until at least age 57. Always check your own position at gov.uk.
Pairs with Salary Sacrifice, Pension Tax Relief and Take-Home Pay.