Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the High Income Child Benefit Charge on single income households; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of determining eligibility for child benefit with reference to overall household income rather than income of the highest earner in a household.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is a tax charge which was introduced in 2013 for recipients of Child Benefit payments on higher incomes. The HICBC applies to Child Benefit recipients who have, or whose partner has, an income of £50,000, regardless of family makeup.

An estimate of the number of single-parent households paying the tax charge is not available as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not routinely collect information on people’s marital status or the circumstances of individuals in a household.