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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how many of you know about the Child Benefit Charge?

380 replies

Ballstothisdotcom · 11/02/2020 15:18

I had to repay over £6k a couple of years ago. Had to get out a loan to do it. The children were mine and not my husbands and I had always claimed as a single parent so just didn’t stop.

Have just read daily mail sad face story about this happening to another family.

My sister and her husband have always claimed it. They have never had it questioned. I just wonder if HMRC are blanket mail sending and hoping people will be honest.

I genuinely had no idea about it until we got the letter. It also seems grossly unfair that two people can earn £49999 per year but if one person goes over it you have to repay it. In our case it was my husband who went over the threshold just slightly so we had to pay back from the day we moved in together.

Any one else?

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 11/02/2020 19:26

Was the CB in your name? If so, he wouldn't be able to stop the payment. It was me that claimed CB so it was me that had to stop the payment when dh went over £60k. I did it online

LakieLady · 11/02/2020 19:26

I knew about it and I don't even have children! But I'm a benefit adviser, so I suppose I should, even though I never come across clients earning more than £50k.

ASureSign · 11/02/2020 19:26

I thought it was well published and that the forms were very clear.

WhereShallWeMoveTo · 11/02/2020 19:28

When did this rule come in?

theneverendinglaundry · 11/02/2020 19:29

@herringbone31 I don't dispute that. Why try to start an argument?

The fact is, it is unfair for the benefit to be based on one earner rather than household income. I have no problem with being means tested for a benefit, but it is completely unfair that a couple can earn £49,999 each and not have to pay back a penny.

NeverTwerkNaked · 11/02/2020 19:29

If one parent earns £60k the other parent has the choice to either work or stay st home. If you chose not to work you can't complain about the family earning more but only because both people are working.

Itwasntme1 · 11/02/2020 19:29

I don’t have children but know about this. It was widely publicised and debated in the press. Items on evening news.

dementedpixie · 11/02/2020 19:30

@WhereShallWeMoveTo it came in in 2013

Original poster
Ballstothisdotcom · 11/02/2020 19:34

I claimed the CB, he got the letter. I tried to move the debt into my name and ask that they claim back from my tax as I’m on a lower income it would not have made a huge difference to me but taken years. They refused. So I ended up taking a loan or it would have worked out he would have been a huge amount out each month. They had put his tax code right down as it was more affordable to get the loan.

OP posts:
PhilCornwall1 · 11/02/2020 19:36

Well aware of it, my salary and benefits (car and health insurance) push me quite a way over 50k. I have done tax returns and had minimal for 17/18 and just shy of a grand for 18/19. We will get it again for 19/20, but are not going to have it from now on.

It's unfair as I know of a couple at work who are both just under £50k and don't get penalised. Whilst my wife earns well, shes nowhere near £50k, so it's unfair.

It doesn't pay to try and progress in life!!

tigger1001 · 11/02/2020 19:37

It's been very well advertised and discussed, so most people should be aware.

Hmrc are really catching up with people who may have incorrectly claimed child benefit (or at least should have paid some/all back). There does seem to have been a bit of a campaign to claw back the tax.

Whether the system is unfair or not isn't really relevant to whether people should be aware of the clawback

Neverenoughcoffee · 11/02/2020 19:41

I'm concerned that a number of people have stated that they've cancelled their claim because they earn over 50k.
Between 50 and 60k, families are still eligible after some. This is 50-60k after pension contributions and charitable giving.

locoroco · 11/02/2020 19:42

you only don't get anything if you earn over 60k.
One of the reasons for the 2 earners earning 49k each & qualify is because the government want to have more people working to collect more tax same for the 30 hours.

PhilCornwall1 · 11/02/2020 19:44

I'm concerned that a number of people have stated that they've cancelled their claim because they earn over 50k.

It reduces the hassle of having to do tax returns, life is busy enough as it is.

Pegase · 11/02/2020 19:47

Yes I knew - seemed well-publicised to me and we opted out entirely as soon as we hit the initial threshold.

jmh740 · 11/02/2020 19:48

I remember when the new rules came in it was very well publicised, I'm a little surprised some people didnt know.

Theraincloud8 · 11/02/2020 19:48

The limit isn’t £50k for those who have stopped claiming. It’s £60k. You only lose some of it between £50k-£60k

LaPufalina · 11/02/2020 19:56

I think the Sunday Times has a campaign going about it at the moment!
I'm going to miss it when I move back into the higher rate bracket in April, I've had two well-timed maternity leaves straddling three tax years! Not sure it's worth claiming and repaying it, works out at c.£12 interest for the year and my DH isn't a SAHP.

Fralla · 11/02/2020 20:07

This thread has made me worry (and I haven’t rtft so sorry if this has already been brought up.
I earn over £50k so don’t claim cb. The children lives with me 12 nights out of 14 but despite this I think my ex-DH claims child benefit for our children. I’ve decided not to argue about this as I’m not claiming anyway.

Is there a risk I might have to repay the cb he’s claiming for our children?

Neverenoughcoffee · 11/02/2020 20:09

It reduces the hassle of having to do tax returns, life is busy enough as it is.

Maybe but a few hours doing a tax return could be worth the extra couple of hundred up to a few grand depending on how many children and how close to the 60k cut off

Ellapaella · 11/02/2020 20:12

@Fralla if they live with you most of the time then you are the resident parent and he shouldn't be claiming. CB as I understand is is usually only paid to the resident parent.
Not sure if this means you would have to pay it back if he gets found out but if I were you I'd be ringing them up to find out.

dementedpixie · 11/02/2020 20:18

He can claim child benefit for them if he makes contributions to their upkeep that are equal to or more than the CB payment

opticaldelusion · 11/02/2020 20:19

So who's committed the 'crime'? Who had to pay back the money? OP or her husband? She's claiming but it's her husband's salary that means she's ineligible. Who did HMRC hold responsible? OP or her husband? What if husband didn't realise wife was claiming and wife doesn't know husband's salary? Unless married people's tax affairs are treated as joint (which they're not) this is all an enforceable mess.

locoroco · 11/02/2020 20:23

It's unfair that its income related when it didn't used to be. It's unfair that older people in my workplace will get defined benefit pensions which don't exist for me.

locoroco · 11/02/2020 20:25

It's not fair that if you need to claim benefits you can now only do so for 2 children.

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