To stop my child benefit?

[meboo]

Who actually understands the implications of this? I work and earn iro £7k per year, my OH earns iro £70k per year and so if I continue to receive Child benefit it will only be taxed out of his wages, swings and roundabouts.
I am sure I read somewhere about not stopping the contributions as it affects my 'stamp'.

I have looked at the HMRC site and I am none the wiser - help??

I am listening to the money box broadcast now...... def a shambles. Why should you expect a man, who is not the father of children, to pay tax just because he is married to the mother!!!!!

I decided to take the risk and stop getting the money as I couldn't bear the thought of HMRC cocking up my DH's tax code yet again. In terms of my NI stamps - I only get another year's worth anyway as my youngest DC is 12 next Dec.
Also I work part-time and earn just enough to get employers contributions but not enough to have to pay any myself just yet.

Ok, could someone tell me how it would work in my sister's case?

Her and her DH are seperated - the children live with her. She earns 60K plus and her ex-h claims the child benefit but as they don't live in the same house, does that mean he doesn't have to stop claiming it?

ceebeegeebies it looks that way as it is calculated on household income.

That is what I thought - it is complicated though as her stepdaughter lives with her therefore her new husband will have to stop claiming for her...so basically based on my sister's earnings, her 3DC can still get the benefit but her stepdaughter can't...that seems fair

I thought the Government wanted to promote aspiration & stable marriages. This policy gives quite the opposite message

Savannahgirl for people lower down the income scale it has been apparent for maybe, ooh, thirty years, that successive UK govts have been all about anything but promoting aspirations; the working poor have always lost out if they got promoted/took on extra hours etc. As such, I don't really think it's such a big issue that it's now applicable to the top 10% as well; after all, they do have plenty of money anyway. What is appalling though, and what there needs to be a lot more fuss about, is how complex and unworkable a change this is, especially when it requires people to make decisions that will affect them far into the future without giving them clear guidance and information about what their options are.

Erm, sorry to sound thick and uninformed but what's going on? I'm SAHM, dh earns £54k, cb gets paid into my account, what do we need to do and by when?

In words of one syllable if possible

I don't disagree with you Wallison.

here is the link you have to decide by midnight tomorrow.

This may help Sunshine

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20889073

We got the letter ages ago and keep forgetting. Yes, it make sense for us to cancel! Dunno what happens to a women who is a SAHM with high earning husbands who are being denied access to money.

DH told me about this article - it does answer some questions about NI contributions and Child Benefit claims.

www.moorestephens.co.uk/SE/Document.aspx?ID=6B5A75400B1C6E09BBB15C9CCC97CE8F

I've just stopped mine online. Will it stop from February, or immediately?

Thank you, I'll have a look at links tomorrow, glad I saw this thread on time and appreciate your replies

Housewife, my understanding is that it stops from 7th Jan, so some people will have had their final payment already. The HMRC website says some people will get a payment after this date in January but that's because it's paid in arrears, so you don't need to worry if this happens to you.

In terms of still getting stamp, the fact that you have claimed child benefit, whether you receive any or not, is sufficient to maintain your entitlement to a pension.

DH earns clear of the £60k so I've cancelled ours. The advice I read on the website gave me to understand that should we have more children we should still claim child benefit for them (just not receive it) as this would protect my stamp should I become a sahm and also ensure the child gets an NI number/ card at 16. I can't link to that as I'm on my phone and it's faffy but the advice was clear you won't lose your stamp if you stop receiving the benefit.

Both DH and I earn over the limit and I received a letter about 6 weeks ago. I've stopped it - not because of the inconvenience of doing self assessment, as we both have to do that anyway, but because I don't think its right for us to claim when we aren't entitled to and the government is trying to make cuts.

What an effing shambles... I've just stopped mine, but I'm a sahm... Does that mean that I won't get a state pension? That's outrageous if so. I'd all up hmrc and ask, but I bet they don't even know...

Is it just me or does every one of the government's new policies seem like it's been hatched in an episode of The Thick Of It.

It is a shambles, so much confusion! but specialknickers the fact that you registered for child benefit should protect your stamp / pension. It doesn't matter that you won't receive the money any longer, as long as you claimed CHB in the first place you'll be fine.. I'm not a tax expert but that's my understanding of it.

Thanks concrete

The difference between In the Thick of It and real-life policy is that In the Thick of It is amusing, while real-life is just tiresome and possibly has less swearing...

I'm rather looking forward to the return of Yes, Prime Minister now.

I really hope you're right... To me it seems very unfair that sahms are penalised, when couples where both parents are earning (and have a higher household income) can claim thousands of pounds a year. But to lose one's pension as well really would be a massive kick in the teeth.

I've kept the claim but cancelled the payment - so NI is still protected by DP won't have to do any tax shenanigans. But he is well over the threshold so I know we'd have to pay it all back through his tax return - just stopping the payment makes it easier.

From the moment it was announced that cancellation of CHB would apply based on a single income rather than household income (meaning that a single income couple earning £61k would lose it completely while a dual income couple earning £98k between them would keep it) I think it was clear that this isn't the fairest of policies. It's ludicrous and has the potential to be an administrative nightmare, both for individuals and HMRC. I don't disagree necessarily with the aim of the policy but the means have been very poorly thought through. It's crazy.

According to the advice I've read - if you want to protect your NI entitlement for being a carer of a child under 12 (e.g. if you are a sahm and aren't paying NI contributions through employer) BUT stop getting the child benefit payments because your OH earns too much, then you need to cancel the child benefit payments but remain registered for child benefit. However, I have yet to find anywhere on HMRC's website which explains how you go about doing this....

Don't forget that if you are close to the thresholds it is based on adjusted net income. So you can deduct pension payments and charitable donations from your earnings. Don't fall on your swords if you don't need to!