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??

I've never registered for it as we've never been eligible and I've always earned the NI credits from my income.

I have heard before that you should register them even if ineligible as it generates a NINO for them and then it is available when for them they turn 16. But I'm not sure that's reason enough for me to do it, as presumably they can just be allocated a number down the line.

I suppose if your income is variable (self employed or on commission /bonuses) and only just over the 60k, you may not know until the end of the year how much you'll need to pay back, if any, so it makes sense to claim it as they won't backdate payments (or they may do by a couple of months but not a year).

Ahhh OK!! That would make sense! I’ve never been paid in those ways so I hadn’t thought about that possibility. Thank you.

Even if you earn over the limit, so will have to pay most or all of it back through tax, you should still claim.

This is in order to get enough what used to be called "stamps" for your National Insurance- so that when you retire you will get enough qualifying years for your pension.
Even if you think you're ok because you are saving in a private pension scheme, or your husband is, you still need to ensure you qualify for a state pension in your own right.
You never know what is round the corner- your pension provider might go bust (it has happened!) , your employer might steal the pension funds (again- it's happened) or you might end up widowed or divorced.

Why should child benefit be for all children?
It used to be called Family allowance and was paid directly to the mother, originally only for second and subsequent children.
It replaced the child tax credits which were taken off the tax paid by the father (we are going back a bit here- to when most women were sahm and men the main earners).
It was felt that this way money could be given directly where it was needed, to the mothers and children instead of to the men, who often would not share.

This is why it was a universal benefit, specifically for children.

While it's universal, in practise you can be subject to the high income benefit charge depending on salary so may have to pay some or all of it back. Think it's £60k that you start paying it back at with it all paid back once you reach £80k

But you don’t have to claim it to do this! You just need to register. I’ve registered for both children but never claimed the money. Appreciate that this isn’t a problem - I’m not complaining about it! Just had wondered what the benefit of claiming the money would be. Now I see how it might work if your pay is less of a salary and less predictable.

You no longer have to claim to receive NI credits. You just have to register and declare you don't want to receive the money...all done online.

This doesn't affect me now,but I thought that it applied to child benefit rather than UC. The wording of it is very misleading.

That means it’s not universal then doesn’t it, as some people aren’t eligible.

If you weren't eligible then you couldn't apply for it at all.

Anyone can claim it but I'm some cases some or all needs to be paid back. Often the person receiving it is different to the person paying it back.

I think everyone is eligible, there's nothing to stop anyone claiming then paying it back if their income is over the threshold

I claimed it when I was a SAHM to ensure I had the pension contributions but DH had to pay it back in his tax. I still claim it despite also working too now with DH paying it back because he works in a volatile industry where redundancy is fairly common. Its easier for me to keep claiming it then to stop claiming but have to reapply for it if DH is out of work. It just evens out the cash flow.

This makes no sense.

If you are required to pay it back, you are not eligible for it, it is not universal

You may not think it makes sense but I've just checked the gov,UK website and there's nothing on the eligibility page about how much you earn everyone who satisfies the criteria of being responsible for a child and living in the UK can claim

@BarcardiWithGadaffia this makes no sense.

How are you ‘eligible’ if you are forced to pay back the full amount?

It’s basically an administrative point - if you are unsure about how much you will earn, you can still get it throughout the year and it be reclaimed later if not.

No one is saying ‘yes I’m so pleased to be eligible for the universal child benefit - I get £0 a week per child! A truly universal benefit’.

Incorrect. You can claim it , but if either partner has an adjusted net income of over £60k you will be subject to the High Income Child Benefit charge, and at the point of earning 80k you will have to repay all of the money.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/what-youll-get

'Eligible' is just a technicality...yes you can claim it, but if you have to repay all of it then you're not getting the benefit!

How am I incorrect, your link says you may have to pay it back if you are over the earnings amount but where does it say you aren't eligible to claim it?

I think people are mixing up eligibility to claim and ability to keep all the money if you are over the limit. Those are two different things

Higher income families over the threshold should also register for it, in order for the children to automatically get a National Insurance Number at 16.

Oh for goodness sake 😂pure semantics ! YES anyone can put in a claim for it. What we're trying to point out is that a lot of people are eligible to claim but not eligible to keep the money and therefore receive no child benefit!