Tax tip: Child benefit

The introduction of the high-income child benefit charge (HICBC) more than ten years ago resulted in many taxpayers formally ‘opting out’ of child benefit to avoid the ‘clawback charge’ which arose for those parents/partners who were earning above £50 000 (and in particular £60 000) a year.

However with the rules about HICBC changing from 6 April 2024 many taxpayers – specifically those with income of up to £80 000 a year – should now look at actively re-registering for the child benefit. If they don’t claim the child benefit pro-actively now (or at least within the next three months) they risk losing their entitlement to the benefit as the rules only allow claims to be backdated for up to three months as a default.

Fluctuating income

In practice this is a particular issue for those whose annual income may fluctuate significantly on a...