To be pissed off about paying back child benefit

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I am in a sector that was awarded a pay rise this year - though our union is fighting for a higher one. The rise was from September but our school (yes, it's teaching) didn't pay it until November when we got months at once. HR always send us a pay statement at this time of year and I have just opened mine and seen I am now on approx £52k (been teaching 18 years and am head of a core subject in a large secondary school). I understand I now have to pay back some of my child benefit. This is a pisser as things are pretty tight and I'm a lone parent who gets no CM (ex is a total waste of space - I've gone through CMS). Also, I wasn't expecting it this year (I was on £49k last year and now I'm worried I've missed some sort of deadline for paying it back as technically I've been on this for 5-6 months, but only just realised.

I really haven't got the head space for this now and a quick Google has just brought confusion. As soon as you move forwards a bit in this shithole country you move backwards it seems. Any advice would be great!

If you are in the Teachers' Pension scheme, your contributions will be close to 10% and so will definitely take you below £50000. I earn slightly more than you and am in TPS and still keep my Child Benefit.

@Symposium123 Definitely agree! 🤬🤬🤬

This!

sorry. 6th April to 5th April.

She is worse off as the benefit she would get in combatting increases in cost of living through her pay rise is reduced by her having to pay back part of her child benefit.

Also I worked for many years as a Nanny in central London. Family I worked for had 6 homes around the world, super high net worth. Claimed child benefit for their kids for over a decade! Because at the time everyone was entitled to it. They joked about it and thought it was hilarious……... I had my first child in Dec 2012 and they changed the rule a few weeks later, so we have never received child benefit.

Why? If someone earns over the threshold then the household wouldn't be eligible anyway, I know on here many say they stay home to facilitate and allow their partner to earn a big salary but the majority would still be able to if their child was in paid childcare.

OP lots of women have zero clue about finances and get stung by stuff like this, plenty of tips online.

'This shithole country'. I find you distasteful.

You need to a self assessment tax return, but the deadline won’t be for another year. I’ve just done mine for 2021-22, deadline was Tuesday. I’ve cancelled mine now as I am on 59k and so not worth it. It is annoying as when you’re a single household income it’s not a massive salary. Not in the south where I live anyway. If I was you I’d plough the 2k into your pension. Also any charity donations can be taken off, so any go fund me’s etc keep a log.

Child benefit was never set up as "free money for having a child." And if it were, then why on earth would it be ok for disadvantaged children (those with a single parent) to be deprived of it at pretty much half the income children with two parents are?

It's bullshit.

Just a word of caution, the charity donations need to be gift-aided so they need to go to registered charities not just any good cause and you need to have fille doubt a gift aid form (online or in person) when donating.

It was a cash grab by George Osbourne, poorly thought out and executed, it needs to be reformed but it generates a nice stream of revenue so it won't and the thresholds have hardly moved since it was brought in so more and more people are being caught up in it.

Child benefit was a benefit which was made payable to mothers for ALL children.

It was set up at the birth of the welfare state. It was to ensure that even if men who were the wage earners then, gambled or drank all their wages away, then there would be some money in the family for the children.

Why? It’s the truth.

So you are complaining because you are on a high wage and so are no longer entitled to an income related benefit?
YABVU.

My husband is a higher rate tax payer and uses an accountant for his tax return. It's been definitely worth doing as he usually ends up with a rebate.

It is a shithole country. Child benefit was not introduced to be means tested

Well it should have been. Some people literally need and use it for their children, others on high incomes literally use it for coffee money or treats for themselves (all the yummy mummies around here would joke about what their CB went on).

It should be means tested. And I am grateful we have it at all.

I think it should be scrapped and included in UC for lower income households.

That would remove the '2 earners on £49k' anomaly.

OP I voted YABU because you won't have to repay any CB, so you're getting annoyed about nothing.

I think the rules are a piss take! If a couple can earn £49,999 each but you get penalised the minute one of you goes over yet everything else is worked out as a total for the couple is a joke! It should be £100,000 per family, regardless of who earns it!

It's 50k net income not gross isn't it?

Great thanks for clarifying that

I agree the child benefit rules are unfair as they take in one income not household income, a household where 2 parents earn £45k each are eligible for full child benefit, but a single parent earning £60k has to pay it all back.

As others have said check what your pay is after pension contributions as you will likely be under £50k anyway. If your earnings after pension are more than £50k you will need to register to complete a self assessment tax return, the return and any tax due for the 2022/23 tax year will be January 2024.

@BarbaraofSeville that's exactly what I think. We should be giving financial support to those who need it most. Oftentimes, that's not someone who just happens to have a child.

Totally agree, there is another thread on here talking about someone coming out of an NHS pension scheme to save some money. One poster commented that payroll cocked up when they gave her the 12 month predicted pay as they didn't specify it was gross pay so they were £300 a month short after deductions. It should be obvious that when a payroll dept is giving salary info it would always be gross as there are too many variables when it comes to deductions.

There is a big gap in knowledge for many people when it comes to basic tax stuff, pay etc. I am an accountant and I have many many clients who have no understanding of how tax/NI etc works and it is really scary that many of them run their own businesses but lack basic finance/payroll knowledge. Obviously that is what they pay me for however they really ought to have a basic understanding IMO.