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Original poster

Earning 52k and child benefit?

80 replies

pippapips7 · 16/03/2023 15:28

We get the £87 a month child benefit for 1yo. When we applied, DP earned 40k and I earned 15k pro rata and it came in really helpful. DP got a promotion in January and now earns 52k (as did I and increased my hours but nowhere near this mark). At the time I made a mental note to check out what this means for the child benefit but it just popped into my mind yesterday. Will we no longer be entitled to it? I've had a look online but can't get a simple answer and a bit confused. Not sure if it's easier to just cancel rather than get a bill through to pay it back? Just hoping someone who has had a pay increase from under 50k to over 50k and received child benefit can shed some light on this?

OP posts:
taxquestiontime · 16/03/2023 21:47

I have a question too! My partner and I are both earning over £50k for the first time, both having had pay roses in Jan this year. His salary will be about £54 mine about £52 and I claim the child benefit. Should it still him (and just him) that does the tax return?

taxquestiontime · 16/03/2023 21:48

Pay rises, not 🌹

dementedpixie · 16/03/2023 21:50

taxquestiontime · 16/03/2023 21:47

I have a question too! My partner and I are both earning over £50k for the first time, both having had pay roses in Jan this year. His salary will be about £54 mine about £52 and I claim the child benefit. Should it still him (and just him) that does the tax return?

It's the highest earner that does the self assessment claim

taxquestiontime · 16/03/2023 21:53

Thanks, one less thing for me to do then 🙂

Ugzbugz · 16/03/2023 22:02

The pension thing didn't seem as standard as that to me when I did a tax return.
I believed my pension would take me under but it depends how you are taxed or something. I don't really understand tbh. Like if your employee benefits are taxed at source etc.
Anyway I'm not making much sense but don't bank on the pension thing taking you under.

I also received my letter in Feb for an apparent 31 Jan 2023 deadline. Ridiculous.

remonstrations · 16/03/2023 22:03

You can also pay additional voluntary contributions into your pension, in addition to the default contributions, to make sure you stay under £50k.

Undecidedandtorn · 16/03/2023 22:09

I used to take a couple of weeks unpaid leave in the school holidays to take me under.

thatsn0tmyname · 16/03/2023 22:13

He can lower his pre -tax salary by making increased pension contributions. He will still need to submit a tax return annually using a government gateway account so the tax office know you've done this.

tortoise2022 · 16/03/2023 22:26

I increased my hours temporarily for 9 months in Jan which tipped me to just over £51k salary - I'm assuming for this year that I won't have to do a self assessment as I won't have earned over £50k for the whole financial year?

If I were to continue working full time on £51k, my pension contributions are 10% so as that takes me back under the threshold, does that mean I don't have to do anything?

I'm sorry if I sound clueless, I've been part time forever (it feels like!) and never dreamed I'd ever earn over £50k and CB be an issue. Thanks!

CheeseMcKnees · 16/03/2023 22:27

DH just pays it back on his tax return

reluctantbrit · 16/03/2023 22:45

pippapips7 · 16/03/2023 16:15

Thanks all, really helpful responses. Great idea to keep it in a separate account just incase, will definitely do that going forward.

We do keep it in a separate account, at the beginning I earned less than 50K, so if DH would loose his job we would be under the threshold and I didn't want to go through the mayhem of re-applying it.

In most years DH is under the 60K so we can keep some of it and it's a nice addition to the holiday fund for us. I basically don't expect to keep any of it and budget accordingly.

LittleOwl153 · 16/03/2023 22:52

For those close to the threshold... take a loom at your P60 which you will receive by the end of May ('23). This will tell you whether you hit the threshold this year or not. If you did you have till Jan '24 to do the self assessment.

LaffTaff · 16/03/2023 23:04

pippapips7 · 16/03/2023 15:48

My fear was that it will come to the end of the year and we'll face a large bill for him to pay it back!

My husband is PAYE, and HMRC adjust his tax code yearly (ie they minus an amount for child benefit from his personal allowance).

paulmccartneysbagel · 17/03/2023 10:47

Yes @LaffTaff is right, just don't make the same mistake I did and miss the deadline by one day 😣

Deadline is 30th December for it to be deducted from PAYE

Monkeybutt1 · 17/03/2023 11:11

We have to pay it all back but we still get it every month so it doesn't impact any NI stamps by not having it. DH does a tax self assessment every January and they take it over 3 months from his salary by changing his tax code then it changes back in April.

dementedpixie · 17/03/2023 11:23

@Monkeybutt1 you can still get NI credits by claiming and opting out of getting the money

Monkeybutt1 · 17/03/2023 11:28

dementedpixie · 17/03/2023 11:23

@Monkeybutt1 you can still get NI credits by claiming and opting out of getting the money

Oooh thank you I will have a look into that. We didn't realise.

LaffTaff · 17/03/2023 12:15

paulmccartneysbagel · 17/03/2023 10:47

Yes @LaffTaff is right, just don't make the same mistake I did and miss the deadline by one day 😣

Deadline is 30th December for it to be deducted from PAYE

I don't think that can be correct? I checked, and I submitted my husband's self assessment for him (he'd forget, so I do it) electronically (via his gov gateway account) on 8th January 2023. It's been applied to his tax code (as a deduction) for next year (ie tax year from 6th Apr 23). It's not a code amendment for a period either as @Monkeybutt1 suggested - the code after deduction applies to the full year (always has)?
He's fully PAYE - we only complete the high income child benefit section of the self assessment.
We're in Scotland, but I don't imagine that makes a difference in terms of deadline dates and how the deduction is applied?

Glittertwins · 18/03/2023 06:49

If you do the self assessment for the CB only, the deadline is 31st January.
I always have the bank transfers set up in place in the first and second week of January to make sure it arrives and is cleared before the deadline in case of any problems

theremaybetulipsahead · 18/03/2023 07:04

Ugzbugz · 16/03/2023 22:02

The pension thing didn't seem as standard as that to me when I did a tax return.
I believed my pension would take me under but it depends how you are taxed or something. I don't really understand tbh. Like if your employee benefits are taxed at source etc.
Anyway I'm not making much sense but don't bank on the pension thing taking you under.

I also received my letter in Feb for an apparent 31 Jan 2023 deadline. Ridiculous.

Did an accountant do you tax return? They should advise you how much to put in a SIPP.

taxquestiontime · 09/10/2023 13:32

Does anyone know if student loan repayments and cycle to work scheme repayments are taken into account when calculating adjusted income and how much child benefit we might have to repay? The explanations I have seen only make reference to pension contributions.

Lastnamedidntstick · 09/10/2023 14:00

LittleOwl153 · 16/03/2023 22:52

For those close to the threshold... take a loom at your P60 which you will receive by the end of May ('23). This will tell you whether you hit the threshold this year or not. If you did you have till Jan '24 to do the self assessment.

That’s too late though to make any adjustments?

I’ve had a ton of overtime this year which may take me a couple of grand over the threshold. So I need to put that money into a SIPP before 6th April- ie before I get my p60.

if you sign up to the HMRC app it gives you a running total of your yearly taxable income so a reasonable estimate of how much you’ll be over.

Maleficentmel · 24/11/2023 18:53

More and more people are reaching the higher income bracket and are getting caught out with the repayment and fines. This income limit has not been changed for 10 years, if it is was in line with inflation it should be around 65k. This petition is worth signing! HICB tax charge petition

Petition: Increase High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold and base on household income

We want the Government to reform the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) by increasing the income threshold for this charge to take into account inflation since 2013, and make it apply to household income, not individual income.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/639443

taxquestiontime · 12/02/2024 23:10

taxquestiontime · 09/10/2023 13:32

Does anyone know if student loan repayments and cycle to work scheme repayments are taken into account when calculating adjusted income and how much child benefit we might have to repay? The explanations I have seen only make reference to pension contributions.

I am bumping this again as still interested to know if cycle to work salary sacrifice schemes and student loan repayments impact adjusted income, anyone know? I can’t see any definitive info even on the tax forum so I am guessing not? Thanks!

SheilaFentiman · 12/02/2024 23:50

You are probably better starting a thread with that in the title- this thread is nearly a year old