Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the High-Income Child Benefit Charge to review rules on single and dual earners with the same level of household earnings.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other income tax policy. This is because HMRC holds records on individual incomes, allowing them to identify who is liable for the charge, and communicate with these individuals to encourage compliance.

However, HMRC does not routinely collect household relationship information, and changes to household make-up and income fluctuations would make it difficult for HMRC to calculate combined household incomes.

Basing the HICBC on household income, to take into account single and dual earner households, would require all families in receipt of Child Benefit payments to report their household income data to HMRC, to ensure compliance. This would be costly to the Government and burdensome for families who currently do not need to provide this information.