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Parents liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge could make the process considerably simpler with a single phone call to HMRC. The department issued an alert earlier this month, highlighting that parents who received a pay rise could now find themselves subject to the charge.

Parents earning over £60,000 who claim Child Benefit are typically required to repay a proportion of their benefit to HMRC through taxation. While this can be done via a Self Assessment tax return, if this charge is the sole reason for filing, HMRC shared: "There's now an easier way."

If you have no other grounds for submitting a tax return, such as being self-employed, you may be able to request HMRC to simply adjust your tax code instead.

This would mean your High Income Child Benefit Charge becomes incorporated into the tax deductions automatically withdrawn from your earnings via PAYE, allowing you to bypass the annual returns altogether.

Over 1.4 million parents and carers currently claim Child Benefit. It provides £26.05 weekly for the eldest child and £17.25 for each additional child, disbursed every four weeks.

Should you or your partner earn over £60,000, a portion of this benefit must be repaid to HMRC relative to your income, known as the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Once earnings reach £80,000, the entire amount must be paid back. However, this does not mean claimants must abandon their claim entirely. The benefit still offers additional support such as National Insurance credits, even if no payments are received from it.

These credits count towards your state pension and can prove invaluable for those who are not working or not earning sufficient wages to pay National Insurance contributions while raising children. To qualify for the full new state pension, you'll need approximately 35 years' worth of these credits or contributions.

Even if you have no need for the credits yourself, you may be able to transfer them to your partner or a family member who provides care for your child. While only one person can claim Child Benefit for a child, there is no restriction on the number of children you can claim for.

Submitting a Child Benefit claim will also automatically generate a National Insurance number for your child, removing the need for them to apply for one themselves. This number will typically arrive shortly before they reach the age of 16.

It is worth highlighting that this applies to individual income rather than your combined household earnings. Should both you and your partner's income exceed the threshold, the person with the higher salary is responsible for settling the charge.

The Gov.uk website features a Child Benefit tax calculator, which can assist people in determining how much of their Child Benefit payments they will be required to repay if their earnings surpass the threshold.