To have only just realised that you CAN claim Child Benefit for more than two children??

[AngeloMysterioso]

I’d always assumed that the two child limit applied to all benefits, but nope- according to the government website “There’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.”

I wonder how many other people have been making this mistake??

Hopefully none! Child benefit is universal.

Yes Martin Lewis was posting about this. The press have been very misleading as the headlines suggest it’s child benefit that’s capped at 2 kids: it’s not, it’s that other benefits don’t get increased if you have more than 2 kids.

No it’s not, if you earn over a maximum amount (which escapes me at the moment) you’re not entitled to it.

This is because the media talks about the cap on universal credit as child benefit, but they are two separate things. It’s awful how they get away with being so deliberately misleading both for the politics of the thing and because it means children could miss out.

I dunno, I mean I don’t consider myself to be particularly uninformed about these things and I had no clue. Fortunately I only started claiming again in April when they increased the salary threshold and it can be backdated up to 3 months so I’ll only miss out on a few weeks payment, but some people may have missed out on hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

That's not correct @Marmite27 you can still claim it but the state claws it back.
I claim it, I am entitled to it as a universal benefit. Dh pays it back through his tax return.

Below £60k it’s tax free, between £60-£80k you pay a tax on it, between £80k and (I think) £100k you basically have to pay it all back (but SAHPs should still claim in order to receive NI credits) and above £100k you’re ineligible.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/07/martin-lewis-two-child-benefit-cap/

This is why I don’t understand the media around it saying changing the policy will lift children out of poverty. The benefits for the children are there… it’s just that people can’t keep having more and more children and expecting all their other benefits to be going up accordingly.

It’s not. It’s means tested.

You’re paying it back because you aren’t entitled to it. That’s the point.

I don't think thats right, you dont pay tax on it over the limits you repay either part or all of it

I'm surprised though at how many people don't know that it's for an unilmited number of chuldfen

Not everyone knows in advance how much they or their partner will earn in a year so better to claim as if you are entitled if you aren't sure imo or you might miss out

Can anyone explain to me what the benefit would be of claiming it and then paying it all back in tax?

I presumed it would be easiest to just not claim it?

But maybe I’m missing something, because I also thought it was capped at two children.

this is a genuine question by the way, not trying to be MN snarky!!

I did know this and I claim it for my 3. I had to do a lot of research though as I found it difficult to get a clear answer.

I watched the Martin Lewis video and learned a lot. It showed me just how unfair the system is.

a family with 2 parents in work, each earning £59,999k a year would get the full child benefit payment for all children, and assuming they claim no other benefits, that’s it. They get the money. Whether they have 1 child or 10.

a family with 1 parent earning just over £60k and any amount above starts losing their child benefit for all kids.

a family who is claiming other benefits and potentially earning a lot less will be restricted by the benefit cap as well as not being able to claim higher benefits if they have more children. The total amount of child benefit is included in the numbers counted for the cap.

So the way I understand this, those families with the least are hit hardest by this policy. I’m hoping Labour are resisting a knee jerk cancellation of the policy because they are going to do a wholesale assessment of the benefits system to make it fairer.

If you’re claiming child benefit as a SAHM your NI contributions are paid. Over a certain income your husband pays it back through his tax returns. So when you are a little old lady you’ll still be eligible for state pension.

Ok this makes sense. I have 3 kids, and get child benefit for all, we receive no other benefits. But I did always wonder why we got it for all 3 if capped at 2!

You get National insurance credits, which is important if you're not working, or earning under the NI limit.

I believe there is a way to claim it for the NI and similar, but not actually get the money to prevent the repayment issue

And I have transferred these over to my DM because she provides my childcare whilst I work.

I'd like to know this too. What's the point? A total headache for not much money. You have to do a self assessment which will mean inland revenue being on your case for the rest of your life.

Same!! I thought this too but a thread on MN yesterday made me realise! The press should change their wording and asap

You don't need to receive the money though. I've filled in the online forms and confirmed that I don't want to receive the money and then I automatically get the NI credits and we don't have to worry about adding it to my DHs tax return.

Yes - I have registered in order to get the NI contributions whilst on mat leave. But I’ve never elected to claim the money. I just wonder if there is any reason that I should, and then pay it back? There doesn’t seem to be! So I’m wondering why it’s an option? Unless I’m missing something!