The PM promised to double the household income threshold for child benefits from £60,000 to £120,000 with 30 free hours of childcare a month for nine-month-olds also continued.
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The proposal would be a “fairer” deal for single-earner households and the Conservatives claim it will benefit over 700,000 families across the country.
The new child benefit system will move to assessing the joint family salary rather than on an individual basis in a bid to end the unfairness.
The rates will remain £25.60 a week for the eldest or only child, up from £24, with £16.95 a week for younger children, up from £15.90.
The hand-out will be paid back gradually through a taper rate until the overall family income hits £160,000.
The biggest beneficiaries will be single-earner households and homes where one individual earns substantially more than the other.
It follows a decision in the Budget in April by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to raise the threshold at which child benefit must be paid back from £50,000 to £60,000.
Today’s Tory manifesto pledges to “end the unfairness in Child Benefit by moving to a household system, so families don’t start losing Child Benefit until their combined income reaches £120,000 – saving the average family which benefits £1,500.”
The Manifesto continues: “This is the right thing for families and the right thing for the economy.
But it still isn’t fair that single-earner households can start losing their child benefit when a household with two working parents and a much higher total income can keep it in full.
“We will end this unfairness by moving to a household rather than individual basis for Child Benefit.
“So nobody is worse off than under the current system, we will set the combined household income at which a family will start losing Child Benefit at £120,000 and gradually remove it until household income reaches £160,000, above which families will no longer receive Child Benefit.
“This will benefit over 700,000 households, each gaining an average of £1,480 a year.”
By RYAN SABEY, Deputy Political Editor
Rishi Sunak managed to pull one rabbit out of the hat and it will be to the delight of the self-employed to create a nation of enterprise.
The move will double down on his key message of being on the side of working people – insisting it’s not right to tax workers twice.
He also launched a blistering attack on Sir Keir Starmer labelling him a socialist – saying he will keep more of the public’s money.
The PM even invoked a famous line from the Brad Pitt film Fight Club.
He said: “The first rule of Labour’s tax rises is that you don’t talk about tax rises.”
There was a lot of time spent on Tory forecasts that Labour would hike taxes up by £2,094 for households – saying if you’re not sure about Labour’s plans “don’t vote for it”.
He also revealed that he wouldn’t put “security and family finances” at risk in the face of eco-zealotry.
There was help for first-time buyers and pensioners as he attempted to win back support from across the ages.
Proposals are also in place to halve migration and then halve it every single year on top of a “regular rhythm” of deportation flights to Rwanda.
The seats he has been visiting during this election campaign show a defensive approach to winnable seats.
I visited Horsham in West Sussex on Monday with the PM which has a 21,000 majority. It’s incredible that the Tories are campaigning in such safe seats.
Will this move the dial? He can only hope that he can begin to claw back some support in the face of an all-out assault by Labour, Reform and the Lib Dems.