self Assessment Child Benefit - Help re pension contributions!

[MyPantsAreGreen]

Hello. Just helping my husband with paperwork to complete self assessment due to child benefit changes. Don't know if I am being a numpty here but where do I find the information to complete the pension parts of the form? He pays 5% of his salary into his employer scheme. Do I go through each payslip from April 2012 to April 2013? His employers have provided scant information - the P11D contains very little legible information and neither does the P60. Very confused. I thought these were the only documents I would need?

Now I did mine for the first time the other day. The way I read it was the pension question was about none employer pensions ie personal plans you may pay into separately. I think, & I am new to this too, that employer pension schemes come from your income before tax so the figures on the p60 don't include it as income. This is why if you earn £60k & pay a pension you won't loose all the cb.

Are you talking about page 4 on this form www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sa100.pdf ? If so, you dont put anything there normally:

1. is if you are making contributions into a pension scheme not provided by your employer
2. doesnt apply if you are talking about an employers pension
3. would be very unusual and your husband would know if it applied
4. is not for UK pension schemes

The helpsheet shows what to put where in the Employment pages www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/hs208.pdf

My company pension plan (a group personal pension plan) is not deducted from my pay before tax, it is deducted from my net pay after having had basic rate tax taken off. My pension scheme claims the basic rate tax back but as a HRT I then claim the additional amount by completing the 3rd box in that section.

It should be shown as a year-to-date figure on his March payslip. You then need to take the figure and divide it by 0.8 to get the gross amount.

www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/relief-pension.htm

It's not very unusual - this is my 3rd job, and been the same in all those jobs. Employers are using group personal pension plans more and more, think its because I can take it with me when I leave which makes it easier for them.

@ceeveebee AFAIK in that situation the amounts should go in box 1, not box 3...

see TRG17-8 here www.hmrc.gov.uk/worksheets/sa150.pdf

Yes sorry, box 1, as its a personal plan but administered by and paid for by employer

@ ceeveebee it's possible that applies to the OP's husband but it's not very likely. He is a higher rate tax payer or he wouldn't be caught up in the Child Benefit changes, but he obviously hasn't had to complete a self assessment form before.

I am printing the forms off now to read in detail- as it's a company scheme ie not transferable maybe it's the reliefs section I need to look st

I thought the whole point of the self assessment was to calculate the 'net adjusted income' and by making additional pension contributions you could bring you net adjusted income down. There doesn't seem to be box on the form for detailing contributions to employer pension schemes - on page 4 the bit headed 'tax reliefs' it says 'do not include payments to your employers pension scheme which are deducted from your pay before tax'. Well where am I supposed to put these contributions then? Is there another supplementary form? We have register to fill in all the forms online but awaiting the activation code to start it all so I am just looking at paper forms for now. Any help would be appreciated?

The contributions into the company scheme have been made before tax but they only attract tax relief at 20%. If he's a higher rate taxpayer there is more tax relief available. So take the total that he has personally contributed for the year (as per his last payslip or the P60) and use that number.

Do you have any software to help you complete the forms and file online? If not, I recommend checking out something called 'TaxCalc'.

Yes got the taxcalc software thanks not used it yet just trying to find the forms etc on paper first and get my head around it all. It just seems strange there is no box to fill in for employer pension schemes.

TaxCalc has explanatory notes and wizards to guide you through the various categories. FWIW I'm in a contributory pension scheme & every year I state the amount I've contributed which is taken out of my wages before tax. HMRC have quizzed me on pretty much everything else I've submitted over the years but never the pension contribs.