daft question about self assessment/child benefit.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

We had to opt out of receiving child benefit because Dh is a higher earner.

Did the self assessment took flipping ages but what now, does Dh stay on self assessment forever or just until next year when he goes back to normal? He's still being taxed as normal.

If anyone knows, please explain slowly as if to a very small child

Thanks

THanks for the replies btw! :)

If his gross in 59800 you can and should still claim cb. The amount you keep will depend on pension contributions etc.

I'd get on the phone and get it reinstated asap. You are entitled to it & should claim

Right! Thank you

Wont they think it's a bit odd as we have only just sorted it out?

Just say that as DH earns less than 60k and has a pension you believe you are still entitled to some child benefit so yiu'd like to start receiving it again.

I think it has been really badly explained/ advertised. I suspect they hoped people would be scared at the thought of self assessment into cancelling when they needn't. TBH i found the self assessment fairly straightforward

It was straight forward once we had the code to log in and do it online - it was the waiting for the code that drove us up the wall and the hours on the phone trying to get another one that worked.

It was badly advertised, I heard about it but presumed we would be informed by letter. I imagine they hoped lots would just opt out too

I will ring them and update later if you can all stand the suspense

But now you have the code I think you can use that for future years so ni need to go through the whole agonising process again. I am like daddaddad and would prefer to have the money and then pay it back. Also circumstances can change and I bet it would be a pain to get reinstated after not claiming for a while.

I hadn't even thought of circumstances changing mummypig clearly not an accountant in a previous life

Mummypig is right about change in circumstances. I am on maternity leave this year so get to keep my child benefit but will have to pay it back again in 2014/15 tax year.

Yep - I kept mine (strictly speaking it is paid to DH) for a variety of reasons:

• I wanted to make it more difficult and expensive for the government to collect it back off me
• I wanted to be protected in case of a change of circumstance, like the one I'm now in, where I've been out of work for 2 months
• I suspected that, once charity contributions and so on were factored into my tax liability I would owe them less than the whole of the child benefit
• instinctively it feels like it offers better protection to DH as the SAH spouse if the money is paid to him, albeit reclaimed from me. I'm not convinced the government will honour a notional entitlement where no money changed hands.
• at the time it seemed as if the removal of a universal benefit was going to be challenged in the European courts, and I figured it would be beneficial to be an active claimant if that went ahead.

So definitely get it reinstated. And btw, self-assessment and PAYE is actually a logical combination if you've got income that can't be taxed through payroll (for example if you owned and rented another property) or owe money which can't be collected through payroll (like child benefit repayments).