Child Benefit at £61,000: charge and pension

Child Benefit at £61,000: the charge, and how to keep it

At £61,000 you repay 5% of your Child Benefit, about £117 a year for two children, through the High Income Child Benefit Charge. A gross pension contribution of about £1,000 brings your adjusted net income to £60,000 and removes the charge entirely. Source: gov.uk.

Figures for 2026/27 · adjusted net income equals salary here · last reviewed 2026-09-06

The charge at £61,000, by number of children

The charge is 5% of the Child Benefit claimed, because adjusted net income is £1,000 above the £60,000 threshold and the charge rises 1% for every £200 above it. It reaches 100% at £80,000.

Children	Child Benefit a year	Charge (5%)	Kept after the charge
1	£1,407	£70	£1,336
2	£2,337	£117	£2,221
3	£3,268	£163	£3,105

The pension contribution that keeps your Child Benefit

Adjusted net income falls pound for pound with a gross pension contribution. Bringing it to £60,000 removes the charge in full, so a contribution of about £1,000 at £61,000 keeps all of your Child Benefit and cuts your income tax at the same time.

	Two children
Gross pension contribution	£1,000
Child Benefit charge removed	£117
Income tax relief on the contribution	£400
Total gain	£517
Real cost of the £1,000 in your pension	£483

In other words, £1,000 goes into your pension but the charge removed and the tax relief mean it costs about £483 of take-home pay. The Child Benefit charge calculator runs your own figures, including a bonus or company car.

Take-home pay at £61,000

On the standard tax code with no pension, £61,000 takes home about £45,937 a year, or £3,828 a month, before any Child Benefit charge. If the £1,000 is given up by salary sacrifice to escape the charge, taxable pay falls to £60,000 and take-home is about £45,357 a year, with the Child Benefit kept in full and the pension built up on top. The take-home pay calculator shows the detail.

What counts towards the £60,000 threshold

The charge is based on adjusted net income, not salary alone. It is total taxable income, including a bonus, a company car and other benefits in kind, savings interest and dividends, minus gross pension contributions and Gift Aid donations. Someone on a £61,000 salary with a company car can therefore face a larger charge than the salary suggests, and a pension contribution is the main way to bring the figure back down. The adjusted net income calculator works it out.

Salaries near £61,000

Salary	Charge, two children	Pension to keep Child Benefit
£61,000	£117	£1,000
£62,000	£234	£2,000

Common questions

Do I lose Child Benefit at £61,000?

Not automatically. At £61,000 you repay 5% of it through the High Income Child Benefit Charge, about £117 a year for two children, so you keep £2,221. A pension contribution can remove the charge and let you keep all of it.

How much pension do I need to keep Child Benefit at £61,000?

About £1,000 gross this year. That brings your adjusted net income to £60,000, the point where the charge stops, so the whole £2,337 for two children is kept. The contribution also earns income tax relief.

What is the Child Benefit charge at £61,000 for one, two or three children?

£70 for one child, £117 for two and £163 for three, since the charge is 5% of whatever Child Benefit is claimed at this income.

Is the pension contribution worth it?

At £61,000 paying £1,000 into a pension removes the £117 charge and earns £400 of income tax relief for a two-child family, a total gain of £517, so the real cost of the £1,000 put into your pension is about £483.

What counts towards the £60,000 threshold?

Adjusted net income: salary, benefits in kind such as a company car, savings and dividend income, minus gross pension contributions and Gift Aid. It is not just salary, so a bonus or a company car can push you over without an obvious pay rise.

Information, not financial advice. Figures use the published 2026/27 Child Benefit rates and charge thresholds and assume adjusted net income equals the salary shown, with no other income or benefits in kind. Check your own circumstances against gov.uk before acting. Whether a pension contribution is right depends on your wider position.