HICBC threshold raised and taper halved at 2024 Spring Budget

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) threshold was raised from an income of £50,000 a year to £60,000, and the taper was halved, under reforms announced at the 2024 Spring Budget¹. Entitlement to Child Benefit is now only fully withdrawn at £80,000 a year¹.

The change reduced the revenue raised by the charge. The HICBC tax take fell by around £230 million on the previous year, from £593 million to £360 million¹. Since it was introduced in 2013, the charge has raised around £5 billion in cumulative tax revenue¹.

Take-up of Child Benefit has continued to fall. For May 2025, Child Benefit was being claimed for 87% of eligible children across the UK, the lowest figure since HMRC began producing these statistics in 2003 and ten points below the peak take-up rate of 97% recorded in 2012¹. Overall take-up fell by 0.9% between August 2024 and August 2025, a slightly faster rate of decline than the year before¹. The number of families opting out fell for two years running, reversing a decade-long upward trend in opting out¹.

Take-up by age of child has diverged since the charge was introduced in 2013. In 2011, take-up was between 94% and 99% across every age from 0 to 15; by 2025, take-up for newborns had fallen to 69%, compared to 96% for the same age in 2011¹. At age 5 the fall is about 14 points, at age 10 about 7 points, and at age 15 close to zero¹.

The same analysis puts an indicative figure on the effect of lower take-up. If take-up had held at the 2012 peak of 97%, Child Benefit spending would have been approximately £9 billion higher than it actually was¹. In 2024-25, the charge raised £360 million in tax while the take-up shortfall had reduced Child Benefit spending by around £1.4 billion, nearly four times as much as the direct effect of the policy¹. All of that £9 billion represents payments that would have flowed to families entitled to Child Benefit, either in full or in part for households in the taper zone¹.

The analysis also notes that a separate scheme has now come into operation, with a £35,000 income threshold and the full payment being clawed back for anyone above it¹. It does not name the scheme in that sentence beyond the heading of the section, which refers to the Winter Fuel Payment¹.

Why it matters for households

Families with a child under 16, or under 20 in approved education, are affected by how the charge interacts with claiming. The threshold change means the charge now starts at £60,000 of income rather than £50,000, and it is fully withdrawn at £80,000 rather than at a lower figure under the previous taper¹. Households in that income range keep a larger share of Child Benefit than before the 2024 Spring Budget¹.

The take-up figures describe who is receiving the money. Take-up for newborns at 69% in 2025 means a smaller share of eligible children at that age had Child Benefit claimed for them than at any point covered by the age breakdown, which runs from 2011¹. Because the fall is concentrated among younger children and the pre-2013 cohort is ageing out of the count, the headline take-up rate is expected to keep falling for several years even if new-claim behaviour stabilises today¹.

The revenue and spending figures set out the two sides of the policy. The charge raised £360 million in 2024-25, while the take-up shortfall reduced Child Benefit spending by around £1.4 billion over the same period¹. The £9 billion cumulative figure represents payments not made to families who were entitled to them, in full or in part¹.

What happens next

The take-up statistics relate to May 2025 and were published by HMRC on 23 April 2026¹. The analysis states that the number of families opting out has fallen for two years running, and that on current trends the headline take-up rate will continue to fall for several years even if new-claim behaviour stabilises today¹. No further threshold changes are reported in the material.