A higher earner may look at the Child Benefit tax charge and decide that claiming is pointless. But the payments are only one part of the claim. For a parent taking time out of paid work, National Insurance credits can be the more important part.
Three choices, not two
- Claim and receive payments. If the income test applies, some or all of the payments may be repaid through the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
- Claim but opt out of payments. You stay registered, and the claimant can still receive National Insurance credits.
- Do not claim. This does not create the automatic credits that come with a Child Benefit claim.
GOV.UK says you should still make a claim even if you choose not to receive payments, so you can get the other advantages. Registration also means your child will usually get a National Insurance number shortly before turning 16 without having to apply.
Choose the claimant carefully
Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child. Whoever claims receives the credits. If one parent is not working or earns too little to pay National Insurance, consider whether that parent should claim. The parent with the larger salary does not have to be the claimant.
The credits count towards the claimant's State Pension and help prevent gaps in their National Insurance record. They are not extra cash in the nursery budget. Do not assume that every parent on maternity or parental leave has a gap: the useful check is the individual's National Insurance record and whether they need credits.
Keep the tax charge separate from the credits
The High Income Child Benefit Charge uses individual adjusted net income, not household income or salary alone. The current threshold is over £60,000, with 1% of Child Benefit repaid for every £200 above that level. Where both partners are over the threshold, the one with higher adjusted net income pays the charge. That person may be different from the claimant.
Opting out stops Child Benefit payments; it does not erase payments already received or a tax charge that arose earlier. If you have already received payments, check that period separately. The Child Benefit charge guide covers the income test in more detail.
A practical first-year checklist
- Decide who should claim before submitting the application, with the credits in mind.
- Check both parents' expected adjusted net income for the tax year before choosing payments or an opt-out.
- GOV.UK says you can claim 48 hours after registering the birth. Claims can be backdated for up to three months, so do not leave the decision indefinitely.
- If a claim already exists, check who holds it and whether that person needs the credits. Ask about a transfer where appropriate.
- Report changes of circumstances to the Child Benefit Office and revisit the payment decision if income changes.
This is a Child Benefit decision, not an application for nursery funded hours or Tax-Free Childcare. Keep those separate in your nursery budget.
General information, not personal financial or tax advice. Official guidance checked on 7 October 2026. Use the GOV.UK sources below to check your own circumstances.
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