Child benefit tax

workplace pensions doesn't count but if you contribute to private pension contributions then you can deduct this amount. I had to ring HMRC and they confirmed it

So does your partner earn over 50k? If he completes a tax return there is a section for it to be included in the calculation.

The grandparents can claim it, but it will still have to be partially/fully repaid if you or your partner earn over £50K.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit

How? How and why would anyone want you to stay in an abusive relationship?

"If either your or your partner’s ‘adjusted net income’ is over £50,000 a year, you may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge."

There is nothing about couples here. It's about the highest earner.

Op I don't think the grandparents can actually claim it. What you can do is transfer the NI contributions to the grandparents if they are under pension age.

I do think the OP mum is committing befit fraud by doing this as otherwise all grandparents of any child could claim it if the parents can't and just provide proof they had spent the money on the child. Which I don't think is actually possible.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/grandparents-childcare-credit/

Reduce your taxable pay by putting lots in your pension and/or claiming tax free childcare. Or working PT to take you below the limit. It's a very easy tax to avoid if you are on the ball.

Someone asked if they needed to fill in a self assessment firm if their taxable income is below the CB high earner lower limit, the answer is no. If you go on High Income Child Benefit Charge website you can fill in the info from your P60 and it will tell you if you need to do a self assessment form. You won't necessarily get a letter when you go over the limit, I didn't, although that may have been because DH had to pay some back the year before.

I am disgusted by it to be honest. It is a huge penalty on single parent families, it’s like the government actively wants us to stay in abusive relationships sometimes

It happened a decade ago.
I can understand how it's overlooked though. I didn't know my arse from my elbow when my kids were little as I was so busy.
And it's still not fair that it penalises lone parents.

We'll have to agree to disagree as I'm only showing what the eligibility criteria is and it doesn't say you have to live with the child to claim.

He needs to declare it on a tax return in order for it to be claimed back in his tax code

@dementedpixie you need to be responsible for the child. You can argue all you like but this is not what is meant. If the child is living with its parents and the father is a high earner then a grandparent living elsewhere is not responsible for the child. It's benefit fraud.

We repay it but my husband doesn’t do a tax return; it’s automatically deducted as part of his payment of tax.

Had to pay all of ours back this tax period that has just passed, earned about £65k after pension contributions, cancelled receiving it as I'm not in a position to pump that much more into my pension just so we can receive back £1,800 a year.

@Dornana the eligibility criteria shows here:

You can claim if you pay an amount equivalent to the CB amount. You don't need to live with them

NRTFT so sorry if repeating other posters or missing later updates.

The higher earner should have received a letter asking them to fill in a tax return. My DH earned just over £50,000 last tax year due to staff shortages and needing to work 25 extra hours a week for a year. Thankfully as he tops up his pension (after tax) this was deducted and meant he had actually earned under £50,000 for tax purposes so he didn’t owe anything. Has you DH/DP not received this or have they ignored it?

I agree that the system is flawed and should be based on joint earnings. It seems the government just don’t care as they have done the same with the free childcare entitlement.

@dementedpixie

The wording is

You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is:
• under 16
• under 20 if they stay in approved education or trainingg_

If the child is living with its parents then they are responsible for bringing up the child not a grandmother living elsewhere.

Under your scenario I could claim it for my grandchildren (parents not eligible) and do what you suggest. If it were legitimate then there would be grandparents all over the country doing it. It's not.

@Mexicola it's not benefit fraud!

So you commit benefit fraud then!

@Dornana if you read the link I posted then you'll see it's not benefit fraud at all. You don't have to live with the child to claim it. You do need to be spending the equivalent of the CB amount on the child.

The grandmother claiming is benefit fraud. You have to be responsible for bringing up the child and if you don't live in the same house and the child lives with it's mother then you are not bringing up the child.

This is a high earner stealing money from the taxpayer. No wonder our public services are in a mess.

HMRC sent me a letter the first year I went above £50k telling me to register & self assess, so I'm always surprised when people don't know.
I am single parent so agree utterly unfair that household income can be 2x £49k and still get it and that threshold hasn't moved but that is the rules. Hopefully Martin Lewis's attention to it, and election year means it might change in the budget.
I treat it as an interest free loan, in my opinion it's easier to stay in the system in case I ever manage to go part-time than leave and re-enter later.
One year I'll be organised enough to self assess before Dec and get it recovered via my tax code....

https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

Check your record here, it goes towards your own state pension. You can pay for some missing years.

Does anyone know at what point you have to register for self assessment? DH's income will likely exceed £50k in the 2024-25 tax year, but his net adjusted income will be below £50k once pension contributions are taken into account. Does he have to register after the 24-25 tax year and complete a self assessment form even though there will be nothing to repay at that point. Or does he only need to register after the tax year in which is net adjusted income is above £50k?

It says on the form. I really don't mean this to be patronising but don't sign things you don't understand, it could get you in trouble