Should I restart Child Benefit after the £60,000 HICBC threshold increase?

What changed when the threshold moved to £60,000?

This page is for families who already opted out of payments under the old High Income Child Benefit Charge line, not a first-time keep-or-stop decision. From tax year 2024 to 2025, GOV.UK’s overview starts the charge on individual adjusted net income over £60,000, at 1% of Child Benefit for every £200, with a full clawback from £80,000. The same page still lists the older rule for tax years up to 2023 to 2024: start over £50,000, 1% per £100, full clawback from £60,000.

A parent who opted out because a salary sat between £50,000 and £60,000 may now sit under the new start point. A parent who is still over £80,000 is still in the full-clawback band on the live pages. The official calculator is how you compare your own adjusted net income with those lines.

Who can restart payments on GOV.UK?

The restart page allows a restart if you previously opted out because of the tax charge and you still qualify for Child Benefit. Make a change to your claim also says you can restart a payment at any time. The claimant is the person who uses the service — an appointee or authorised agent cannot use the online service or the online form.

Opting out of payments is not the same as ending the claim. GOV.UK’s overview says you stay registered: National Insurance credits for the claimant and an automatic National Insurance number for the child at 16 still sit with the claim. Restarting turns the payment back on. It does not create a new claim from scratch.

How do I restart Child Benefit after opting out?

1. 1
   Estimate the charge on today’s thresholds Use the Child Benefit tax calculator with the higher earner’s adjusted net income for the tax year you care about. The calculator still uses the individual test for 2024–25 through 2026–27.
2. 2
   Use the official restart service if you are the claimant GOV.UK offers an online service or online form. You need to sign in. There is also a publication page for restarting after a High Income Child Benefit Charge opt-out.
3. 3
   Or contact the Child Benefit Office The restart page says you can phone or write instead. Child Benefit enquiries lists 0300 200 3100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays, and the postal address HM Revenue and Customs — Child Benefit Office, PO Box 1, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE88 1AA.
4. 4
   Wait for the first payment and the backdating letter GOV.UK says it can take up to 28 days after the office gets the request before the first payment. The office writes to say how much any backdated payments are, if any.

Can I backdate payments after I restart?

The public restart page does not promise a set number of weeks. It says the office writes about backdated payments if any. HMRC’s technical manual CBTM03130 is the detailed revocation rule: a restart is treated as made on the Monday after HMRC receives it, or on a later date you ask for.

That manual also allows a request for an earlier start date where you had opted out and received no payment for one or more weeks in that tax year, and either nobody would have been liable to the charge or the charge for that year would have been less than the Child Benefit you were entitled to (the manual cites income between £50,000 and £60,000, and from 6 April 2024 income between £60,000 and £80,000), and the request is made no later than two years after the end of that tax year. LITRG summarises the same two-year window.

A new Child Benefit claim is a different rule — GOV.UK usually backdates a new claim by up to three months. Do not treat that three-month line as the restart rule. The office letter is the record of what, if anything, is backdated on your revocation.

Will I owe the charge again if I restart?

You might. The restart page says you or your partner will have to pay any tax charge on the benefit received from the restart date if adjusted net income is over the threshold. Restarting does not lock in a charge-free year. If the higher earner is still over £60,000, PAYE or Self Assessment is still the payment route. If they are over £80,000, the live pages still describe a full clawback of the Child Benefit paid.

In shortIn short: the 2024–25 threshold rise is why many opted-out claims are worth a fresh calculator run. Restart only if you still qualify. Use GOV.UK’s restart service or the Child Benefit Office, then read the backdating letter. The charge can apply again from the restart date if the higher earner is over the live threshold.