What the High Income Child Benefit Charge is
Child Benefit is a payment to parents and carers for each child, and it is not means-tested at the point of claim. The HICBC is a tax charge that takes some or all of it back if you have high income. GOV.UK states the threshold is over £60,000 for tax years starting from 2024 to 2025 (it was £50,000 up to 2023/24), and that you pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 you earn over the threshold. At £80,000 or more, you must repay all of it.
The measure of income is adjusted net income: total taxable income (pay, self-employed profit, savings interest, dividends, rental profit), minus certain reliefs such as pension contributions and Gift Aid donations. It is an individual test. If both partners are over £60,000, the one with the higher income is responsible for the charge, even if the other partner claims the benefit.
The charge can be paid via Self Assessment or, if you do not need to file a return and you meet the deadline, through your PAYE tax code. GOV.UK notes Self Assessment is mandatory if you are self-employed or the payment deadline (31 January after the tax year) has passed. Check GOV.UK for any change to these rules before you plan around them; a household-based charge has been discussed in the past, but GOV.UK still described an individual test when we checked on 29 September 2026.
Why a firefighter's pension matters here
Your FPS contributions are deducted from your pay before Income Tax under a net pay arrangement, so the pay that appears in your taxable income is already lower than your salary. That makes the HICBC threshold harder to reach than headline pay suggests. Using the site's England 2015 scheme contribution rates, a Station Manager Competent B on £57,402 pays 14.09%, which is £8,087.94, leaving £49,314.06 taxable.
That is more than £10,000 under the £60,000 line. Higher pay points are closer: a Group Manager Competent A on £61,736 pays 14.09% (£8,698.60), so taxable pay is £53,037.40; a Group Manager Competent B on £66,445 also pays 14.09% (£9,362.38), leaving £57,082.62; an Area Manager Development on £70,368 pays 15.59% (£10,970.37) and has £59,397.63. In every case, base pay alone stays under £60,000 for these points.
Where firefighters do cross the line is with overtime, on-call and other income, plus other household sources that sit in the same person's name (rental profit, interest). Note the assumption: overtime is normally non-pensionable, so it adds fully to adjusted net income. See firefighter overtime rates for pay levels.
| Pay point | Base pay | Pension % | Pension £ | Adjusted net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch Manager Competent B | £50,034 | 14.09% | £7,049.79 | £42,984.21 |
| Station Manager Competent B | £57,402 | 14.09% | £8,087.94 | £49,314.06 |
| Group Manager Competent A | £61,736 | 14.09% | £8,698.60 | £53,037.40 |
| Group Manager Competent B | £66,445 | 14.09% | £9,362.38 | £57,082.62 |
| Area Manager Development | £70,368 | 15.59% | £10,970.37 | £59,397.63 |
| Area Manager Competent B | £77,186 | 15.59% | £12,033.00 | £65,153.00 |
Pension rate from the site's FPS 2015 tier data by pay level; your actual rate depends on your scheme, pensionable pay and service. Adjusted net income can also include other taxable income and be reduced by Gift Aid and other reliefs.
Worked example: overtime pushes a Station Manager over £60,000
Station Manager Competent B, base £57,402, England FPS 2015. After 14.09% pension (£8,087.94) adjusted net income is £49,314.06, so there is no charge. Add £12,000 of overtime in the year (roughly 305 hours at the £39.32 hourly overtime rate in the pay data, which is a lot but possible with sustained cover): income rises to £61,314.06, which is £1,314.06 over £60,000. The charge is 1% per £200: 1,314.06 / 200 = 6.57%. HMRC may apply whole percentages, so expect about 6% to 7%.
To put a pound figure on it, suppose the household receives a hypothetical £2,000 a year of Child Benefit (use your actual amount). A 6.57% charge is about £131. With £15,000 overtime, income is £64,314.06, £4,314.06 over the line, a 21.57% charge and about £431 on the same £2,000. Area Manager Competent B at £77,186: adjusted net income is £65,153.00, £5,153 over, or 25.77%: about £515 on £2,000.
The HICBC acts like an extra tax on income between £60,000 and £80,000. On £2,000 of Child Benefit, each extra £200 of income costs £20 (1% of £2,000), that is 10p in the pound. For a 40% taxpayer with 2% NI the combined marginal rate is 52%, so £1,000 of extra overtime leaves about £480. Use the overtime calculator for the tax and NI portion.
| Annual overtime | Adjusted net income | Over £60,000 by | Charge % | Approx. charge on £2,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £0 | £49,314.06 | none | 0% | £0 |
| £10,685.94 | £60,000.00 | none | 0% | £0 |
| £12,000 | £61,314.06 | £1,314.06 | 6.57% | £131 |
| £15,000 | £64,314.06 | £4,314.06 | 21.57% | £431 |
| £20,000 | £69,314.06 | £9,314.06 | 46.57% | £931 |
Overtime treated as non-pensionable. HMRC may apply whole percentages, so the actual charge may differ slightly. The Child Benefit amount is a hypothetical example, not the current rate.
How to reduce adjusted net income legitimately
The main lever is pension contributions. Additional contributions that are deducted from pay before tax reduce your taxable income directly. If you pay added pension through your service's payroll, ask how it is treated for adjusted net income; contributions made under relief at source and Gift Aid donations are grossed up and deducted. GOV.UK's guidance on adjusted net income describes which reliefs count. If you are within a few hundred pounds of £60,000, a small extra contribution or a Gift Aid donation might eliminate the charge entirely.
Worked example. Station Manager with £61,314.06 adjusted net income wants to get to £60,000. Reducing income by £1,314.06 removes the charge. A Gift Aid donation of £1,051.25 (grossed up by 25% to £1,314.06) does it, though you are giving money to charity, not just avoiding a charge, so only do it if you want to donate. Extra pension contributions of £1,314.06 (net-pay basis) would also work, and additionally build pension benefit: compare with pension contributions and our pension calculator.
You cannot simply refuse the overtime without consequences; the point of this guide is to price it. If the pounds are worth it after the charge, take them. Often they are: even at a 52% combined marginal rate you keep 48p in the pound. Look at total household cost, not just the headline, and consider timing, such as when overtime is paid and which tax year it falls into.
Claim, opt out, or claim without receiving payments
If you or your partner are over £80,000 you would repay everything, and some households prefer not to receive Child Benefit. The usual approach is to still make the claim but opt out of receiving the payments, which can keep the National Insurance credits that go with claiming Child Benefit (important for a partner with low or no earnings) while avoiding the charge. We have not re-verified the exact process, so check the current guidance and form on GOV.UK before doing so.
If you are between £60,000 and £80,000, you can keep receiving Child Benefit and pay the charge; whether that is worthwhile depends on the proportion charged. For example, at 6.57% you still keep 93% of the benefit, so receiving it is usually better than stopping. Only when the charge is close to 100% does opting out make sense.
Your way of paying the charge affects your tax code: if you use PAYE, HMRC reduces your Personal Allowance in the tax code to collect the charge. GOV.UK's explanation of tax codes lists the High Income Child Benefit Charge as a deduction that can reduce your allowance. See our tax code guide.
Partners, other income and who pays
The test is applied to each person's own adjusted net income. If you earn £61,000 and your partner £25,000, you pay the charge even if your partner claims and receives the benefit. If your partner earns £65,000 and you earn £62,000, the higher earner (your partner) pays. This is the individual basis GOV.UK describes, and it produces oddities: a two-earner household with £59,000 each pays nothing, while a one-earner household on £61,000 pays.
Other income counts: rental profit, savings interest above allowances, dividends, on-call retained pay from a separate employer, and self-employed profits from a side business. Check the full picture and the second job guide for how outside earnings are treated for firefighters.
Because the charge is worked out after the tax year, it is easy to be caught out by a year with an unusually high overtime total. If you can predict it, consider a modest adjustment in the same tax year (pension or Gift Aid) rather than finding out after 5 April.
Planning: forecasting your year and staying under £60,000
The practical method is a simple forecast: take base pay, subtract your pension, add expected overtime, allowances and other income, subtract any Gift Aid or relief-at-source pension contributions, and compare with £60,000. Update it each quarter. A running total of overtime hours is the main variable you control.
Worked example: Watch Manager Competent B, £50,034 base. Pension 14.09% (£7,049.79) leaves £42,984.21. Headroom to £60,000 is £17,015.79. At the overtime rate of £34.28 an hour (from the site's pay data), that headroom is about 496 hours. This is well beyond typical overtime, so most Watch Managers will not reach it from overtime alone. Compare: a Station Manager Competent B has £10,685.94 of headroom, or about 272 hours at £39.32.
Use the pay calculator to check the base figures for your point and the pay planner to model overtime scenarios across a tax year. Include the Personal Allowance taper too: above £100,000 adjusted net income the allowance falls by £1 for every £2, which matters only for a few senior officers.
Free toolEstimate your overtime paySee gross and net overtime so you can track adjusted net income through the year.Open the overtime calculator →Common mistakes
Frequent errors: using gross salary instead of adjusted net income (forgetting that pension reduces it); forgetting that overtime is not pensionable and so adds fully; assuming the charge is on household income; missing that a partner's higher income means they owe it; ignoring the Self Assessment deadline; and stopping Child Benefit altogether and losing the National Insurance credit for a partner who is not working.
If you have paid too much or too little HICBC, HMRC can correct it after the year; keep evidence of pension and Gift Aid. If your circumstances are complicated (both partners near the threshold, self-employment, changes mid-year) talk to HMRC or a qualified tax adviser; this guide is general information, not advice.
- Threshold £60,000 adjusted net income; full charge at £80,000.
- Assessed individually; the higher earner pays if both are over.
- Pension and Gift Aid reduce adjusted net income; overtime increases it.
- Claiming but opting out of payments can protect NI credits (check GOV.UK).
- Review your forecast before 5 April.
Frequently asked questions
At what income does the High Income Child Benefit Charge start?
It starts when one person's adjusted net income exceeds £60,000 for tax years from 2024/25 onwards (GOV.UK). You repay 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 above £60,000, and the whole benefit is repaid at £80,000. It applies to the individual, not the household.
Does firefighter overtime count towards the £60,000?
Yes. Overtime, on-call fees, allowances and other taxable income all count towards adjusted net income. Pension contributions and Gift Aid reduce it. A Station Manager on £57,402 has about £49,314 after FPS contributions, so around £10,686 of overtime brings them to £60,000.
Does my firefighter pension reduce adjusted net income?
Yes, because FPS contributions are deducted before tax, taxable pay is already lower than gross. Adjusted net income starts from taxable income, so pension contributions taken through payroll before tax reduce it. Check your payslip's taxable pay figure and other income to work out the total.
Who pays the charge if both partners earn over £60,000?
The partner with the higher adjusted net income is responsible for the charge, according to GOV.UK, even if the other partner is the one who claims Child Benefit. If only one partner exceeds £60,000, that person pays the charge whichever of you claims.
Should I stop claiming Child Benefit if I'm over the threshold?
Not necessarily. Between £60,000 and £80,000 you still keep the part that is not charged, so continuing is usually better. Above £80,000 the whole benefit is repaid, so some families claim but opt out of payments to keep NI credits. Check the current GOV.UK guidance before deciding.
How can I pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge?
Through Self Assessment, or through your PAYE tax code if you do not need to file a return and you meet the deadline, according to GOV.UK. If you pay through your tax code, HMRC reduces your allowance to collect it. Self Assessment is required if self-employed or if the 31 January deadline passed.
Is the charge changing to household income?
GOV.UK still describes an individual-based charge when we checked on 29 September 2026. Proposals for a household basis have been discussed in the past, so check GOV.UK and HMRC for the latest position before planning, and treat any change as unconfirmed until it is legislated.